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A novel for every nation
A novel for every nation
A list of the literature of the world for all to build.
What novel best represents each nation/territory and why?
Fiction only. Any time period. You must be able to make a reasonable argument that the book represents the soul of the country in some way. The book does not have to be published in that country. But the author must be from it.
I'll update the list with suggestions as they appear.
Feel free to suggest amendments to the list itself.
**Afghanistan**
*A Thousand Splendid Suns* by Khaled Hosseini
**Albania**
**Algeria**
*Meursault, contre-enquête* by Kamel Daoud
**Andorra**
**Angola**
**Antigua and Barbuda**
**Argentina**
**Armenia**
**Australia**
*Voss* by Patrick White
**Austria**
**Azerbaijan**
**Bahamas, The**
**Bahrain**
**Bangladesh**
**Barbados**
**Belarus**
**Belgium**
*Chapel Road* by Louis Paul Boon
**Belize**
**Benin (Dahomey)**
**Bolivia**
**Bosnia and Herzegovina**
*The Bridge on the Drina* by Ivo Andrić
**Botswana**
**Brazil**
**Brunei**
**Brunswick and Lüneburg**
**Bulgaria**
**Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)**
**Burma**
**Burundi**
**Cabo Verde**
**Cambodia**
**Cameroon**
**Canada**
*Alias Grace* by Margaret Atwood
**Cayman Islands, The**
**Central African Republic**
**Chad**
**Chile**
**China**
*Rickshaw Boy* by Lao She
**Colombia**
*One Hundred Years of Solitude* by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
**Comoros**
**Costa Rica**
**Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)**
**Croatia**
**Cuba**
**Cyprus**
**Czechia**
**Czechoslovakia**
**Democratic Republic of the Congo**
**Denmark**
**Djibouti**
**Dominica**
**Dominican Republic**
*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz
**Ecuador**
**Egypt**
*Miramar* by Naguib Mahfouz
*God died by the Nile* by Nawal el Saadawi
**El Salvador**
**Equatorial Guinea**
**Eritrea**
**Estonia**
**Eswatini**
**Ethiopia**
*The Shadow King* by Maaza Mengiste
**Fiji**
**Finland**
**France**
*Les Miserables* by Victor Hugo
**Gabon**
**Gambia, The**
**Georgia**
**Germany**
*The Reader* by Bernhard Schlink
**Ghana**
*Homegoing* by Yaa Gyasi
**Greece**
*Zorba the Greek* by Nikos Kazantzakis
**Grenada**
**Guatemala**
**Guinea**
**Guinea-Bissau**
**Guyana**
**Haiti**
**Holy See**
**Honduras**
**Hungary**
*The Melancholy of Resistance* by Laszlo Krasznahorkai
**Iceland**
**India**
**Indonesia**
**Iran**
**Iraq**
**Ireland**
*Milkman* by Anna Burns
**Israel**
**Italy**
*The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco
**Jamaica**
**Japan**
**Jordan**
**Kazakhstan**
**Kenya**
*The River Between* by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
**Kiribati**
**Kosovo**
**Kuwait**
**Kyrgyzstan**
**Laos**
**Latvia**
**Lebanon**
**Lesotho**
**Liberia**
**Libya**
**Liechtenstein**
**Lithuania**
**Luxembourg**
**Madagascar**
**Malawi**
**Malaysia**
**Maldives**
**Mali**
**Malta**
**Marshall Islands**
**Mauritania**
**Mauritius**
**Mexico**
*Like Water for Chocolate* by Laura Esquivel
**Micronesia**
**Moldova**
**Monaco**
**Mongolia**
**Montenegro**
**Morocco**
**Mozambique**
**Namibia**
**Nauru**
**Nepal**
**Netherlands, The**
*Eline Vere* by Louis Couperus
**New Zealand**
**Nicaragua**
**Niger**
**Nigeria**
*Half of a Yellow Sun* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
**North Korea**
**North Macedonia**
**Norway**
*Growth of the Soil* by Knut Hamsun
**Oman**
*Celestial Bodies* by Jokha Alharthi
**Pakistan**
**Palau**
**Palestine, State of**
**Panama**
**Papua New Guinea**
**Paraguay**
**Peru**
**Philippines**
*Bibliolepsy* by Gina Apostol
**Poland**
*Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead* by Olga Tokarczuk
**Portugal**
**Qatar**
**Republic of Korea (South Korea)**
**Republic of the Congo**
**Romania**
**Russia**
*Anna Karenina* by Leo Tolstoy
**Rwanda**
**Saint Kitts and Nevis**
**Saint Lucia**
**Saint Vincent and the Grenadines**
**Samoa**
**San Marino**
**Sao Tome and Principe**
**Saudi Arabia**
**Senegal**
**Serbia**
**Seychelles**
**Sierra Leone**
**Singapore**
**Slovakia**
**Slovenia**
**Solomon Islands, The**
**Somalia**
**South Africa**
*Cry, the Beloved Country* by Alan Paton
**South Sudan**
**Spain**
*Don Quixote* by Miguel de Cervantes
**Sri Lanka**
*A Passage North* by Anuk Arudpragasam
**Sudan**
**Suriname**
**Sweden**
**Switzerland**
**Syria**
**Tajikistan**
**Tanzania**
**Thailand**
**Timor-Leste**
**Togo**
**Tonga**
**Trinidad and Tobago**
*The Mermaid of Black Conch* by Monique Roffey
**Tunisia**
**Turkey**
*Snow* by Orhan Pamuk
**Turkmenistan**
**Tuvalu**
**Uganda**
**Ukraine**
**United Arab Emirates, The**
**United Kingdom, The**
**United States, The**
*Beloved* by Toni Morrison
*Of Mice and Men* by John Steinbeck
**Uruguay**
**Uzbekistan**
**Vanuatu**
**Venezuela**
**Vietnam**
**Yemen**
**Zambia**
**Zimbabwe**
#local
A novel for every nation
A list of the literature of the world for all to build.
What novel best represents each nation/territory and why?
Fiction only. Any time period. You must be able to make a reasonable argument that the book represents the soul of the country in some way. The book does not have to be published in that country. But the author must be from it.
I'll update the list with suggestions as they appear.
Feel free to suggest amendments to the list itself.
**Afghanistan**
*A Thousand Splendid Suns* by Khaled Hosseini
**Albania**
**Algeria**
*Meursault, contre-enquête* by Kamel Daoud
**Andorra**
**Angola**
**Antigua and Barbuda**
**Argentina**
**Armenia**
**Australia**
*Voss* by Patrick White
**Austria**
**Azerbaijan**
**Bahamas, The**
**Bahrain**
**Bangladesh**
**Barbados**
**Belarus**
**Belgium**
*Chapel Road* by Louis Paul Boon
**Belize**
**Benin (Dahomey)**
**Bolivia**
**Bosnia and Herzegovina**
*The Bridge on the Drina* by Ivo Andrić
**Botswana**
**Brazil**
**Brunei**
**Brunswick and Lüneburg**
**Bulgaria**
**Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)**
**Burma**
**Burundi**
**Cabo Verde**
**Cambodia**
**Cameroon**
**Canada**
*Alias Grace* by Margaret Atwood
**Cayman Islands, The**
**Central African Republic**
**Chad**
**Chile**
**China**
*Rickshaw Boy* by Lao She
**Colombia**
*One Hundred Years of Solitude* by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
**Comoros**
**Costa Rica**
**Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)**
**Croatia**
**Cuba**
**Cyprus**
**Czechia**
**Czechoslovakia**
**Democratic Republic of the Congo**
**Denmark**
**Djibouti**
**Dominica**
**Dominican Republic**
*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Diaz
**Ecuador**
**Egypt**
*Miramar* by Naguib Mahfouz
*God died by the Nile* by Nawal el Saadawi
**El Salvador**
**Equatorial Guinea**
**Eritrea**
**Estonia**
**Eswatini**
**Ethiopia**
*The Shadow King* by Maaza Mengiste
**Fiji**
**Finland**
**France**
*Les Miserables* by Victor Hugo
**Gabon**
**Gambia, The**
**Georgia**
**Germany**
*The Reader* by Bernhard Schlink
**Ghana**
*Homegoing* by Yaa Gyasi
**Greece**
*Zorba the Greek* by Nikos Kazantzakis
**Grenada**
**Guatemala**
**Guinea**
**Guinea-Bissau**
**Guyana**
**Haiti**
**Holy See**
**Honduras**
**Hungary**
*The Melancholy of Resistance* by Laszlo Krasznahorkai
**Iceland**
**India**
**Indonesia**
**Iran**
**Iraq**
**Ireland**
*Milkman* by Anna Burns
**Israel**
**Italy**
*The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco
**Jamaica**
**Japan**
**Jordan**
**Kazakhstan**
**Kenya**
*The River Between* by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
**Kiribati**
**Kosovo**
**Kuwait**
**Kyrgyzstan**
**Laos**
**Latvia**
**Lebanon**
**Lesotho**
**Liberia**
**Libya**
**Liechtenstein**
**Lithuania**
**Luxembourg**
**Madagascar**
**Malawi**
**Malaysia**
**Maldives**
**Mali**
**Malta**
**Marshall Islands**
**Mauritania**
**Mauritius**
**Mexico**
*Like Water for Chocolate* by Laura Esquivel
**Micronesia**
**Moldova**
**Monaco**
**Mongolia**
**Montenegro**
**Morocco**
**Mozambique**
**Namibia**
**Nauru**
**Nepal**
**Netherlands, The**
*Eline Vere* by Louis Couperus
**New Zealand**
**Nicaragua**
**Niger**
**Nigeria**
*Half of a Yellow Sun* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
**North Korea**
**North Macedonia**
**Norway**
*Growth of the Soil* by Knut Hamsun
**Oman**
*Celestial Bodies* by Jokha Alharthi
**Pakistan**
**Palau**
**Palestine, State of**
**Panama**
**Papua New Guinea**
**Paraguay**
**Peru**
**Philippines**
*Bibliolepsy* by Gina Apostol
**Poland**
*Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead* by Olga Tokarczuk
**Portugal**
**Qatar**
**Republic of Korea (South Korea)**
**Republic of the Congo**
**Romania**
**Russia**
*Anna Karenina* by Leo Tolstoy
**Rwanda**
**Saint Kitts and Nevis**
**Saint Lucia**
**Saint Vincent and the Grenadines**
**Samoa**
**San Marino**
**Sao Tome and Principe**
**Saudi Arabia**
**Senegal**
**Serbia**
**Seychelles**
**Sierra Leone**
**Singapore**
**Slovakia**
**Slovenia**
**Solomon Islands, The**
**Somalia**
**South Africa**
*Cry, the Beloved Country* by Alan Paton
**South Sudan**
**Spain**
*Don Quixote* by Miguel de Cervantes
**Sri Lanka**
*A Passage North* by Anuk Arudpragasam
**Sudan**
**Suriname**
**Sweden**
**Switzerland**
**Syria**
**Tajikistan**
**Tanzania**
**Thailand**
**Timor-Leste**
**Togo**
**Tonga**
**Trinidad and Tobago**
*The Mermaid of Black Conch* by Monique Roffey
**Tunisia**
**Turkey**
*Snow* by Orhan Pamuk
**Turkmenistan**
**Tuvalu**
**Uganda**
**Ukraine**
**United Arab Emirates, The**
**United Kingdom, The**
**United States, The**
*Beloved* by Toni Morrison
*Of Mice and Men* by John Steinbeck
**Uruguay**
**Uzbekistan**
**Vanuatu**
**Venezuela**
**Vietnam**
**Yemen**
**Zambia**
**Zimbabwe**
#local
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