This post is part of the #ReadMoreLatam2021 Challenge. Click here for more info.
The challenge for this month is to read a book from a country you’ve visited (or want to visit).
It’s a common refrain that books have the power to transport you to new and interesting locales and while I believe that can be the case, it’s not always true. Even so, this month, the challenge is to read a book from a Latin American country that you’ve already visited. One you want to revisit by way of literature, shall we say.
Alternatively, given that travel isn’t accessible to all, you can pick a book from a country that’s on your post-pandemic (although still not convinced that’s a thing) travel wish list.
Personally, I’ve gone for both a country I have visited and would love to revisit—Colombia—although I’m pretty sure the plot of Holiday Heart actually takes place in the US. (Oops.)
Anyway, in the spirit of travel-as-theme, all the books I’m suggesting for November’s challenge have a strong sense of place. As usual, my normal caveat—these are all either books I’ve read or simply books I want to read and review.
Recommendations
The Colombian coast—The Bitch by Pilar Quintana (trans. Lisa Dillman)
Mexico City and Oaxaca—Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis
Caracas—It Would be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo (trans. Elizabeth Bryer)
Fictional Latin American village—Poso Wells by Gabriela Alemán (trans. Dick Cluster)
Uruguay—Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis
Brazil and London—Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
El Salvador—Slash and Burn by Claudia Hernández (trans. Julia Sanches)
Lima, Peru—Chasing the Sun by Natalia Sylvester
Santiago, Chile—The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán (trans. Sophie Hughes)
Fictional Haitian village—Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat
Veracruz, Mexico—Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (trans. Sophie Hughes)
Pinochet-era Chile—How to Order the Universe by María José Ferrada (trans. Elizabeth Bryer)
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