"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". It was created because they are particularly fond of lists. It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.
Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.
This week's topic is Books that Include/Feature [insert your favorite theme or plot device here] (for example: unreliable narrators, coming of age, darkness vs. light, time travel, metafiction, a specific romantic trope, good vs. evil. cliffhangers, flashbacks, plot twists, red herrings, loose ends, stories within stories, meet cutes, symbolism, etc.) Since I lived half of my life abroad, I picked books about expats.
Alexievich, Svetlana "Second Hand Time. The Last of the Sovjets" (Russian: Время секонд хэнд = Vremja sekond khend) - 2013
Russian-Soviets abroad
Barnes, Valerie "A Foreign Affair. A Passionate Life in Four Languages" - 2004
An Australian in Switzerland
An Brit in Belgium
A US American in China
Drinkwater, Carol "The Olive Series" - 2001-2010
A Brit in France
Clarke, Stephen "A Year in the Merde" - 2004
Another Brit in France
McLain, Paula "The Paris Wife" - 2012
A US American in France
Russell, Helen "The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country" - 2015
A Brit in Denmark
A German in Kenya
It seems like there are a lot of British people living abroad but that could also be because I just happened to read many books by Brits.
I recently added 'Living Danishly' to my Wish List after discovering that the author has a new book out 'How to Raise a Viking: The Secrets of Parenting the World’s Happiest Children' which looked fun! She's also written a novel about two women finding their 'inner Viking' too which looks even funnier!
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether you've read my post, Kitten, but it is quite a funny book. She is a good author, so I might go for some of her other ones.
DeleteYes, I read your review. She sounds like a fun read.
DeleteThanks, Kitten. She is.
DeleteI classify these as Moving-and-Starting-Over books. I'm fascinated by these stories. Thanks for sharing these, as many of them are new to me.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Deb. Yes, you are right, one has to start all over when one moves to a foreign country as nothing is the same.
DeleteI’m an expat, too. I love reading other people’s stories about that experience.
ReplyDeleteSo do I, Lydia. I never knew you were an expat, as well. Where to do you come from, originally.
DeleteA Year in the Merde is a fun title!
ReplyDeleteIt's also a fun book, Stephen. He has written more "Merde" books, as well.
DeleteOoh, great take on the topic :) The only one I've heard of from your list is The Year of Living Danishly and it has been on my TBR radar for years!
ReplyDeleteThat is probably a nice book to start with if you haven't read about expats because she went to Denmark because her husband got a job there. As is the reason quite often. A job. Not wanting to live elsewhere.
DeleteI remember when everybody was reading The Year of Living Danishly. I never got around to it. Maybe now is a good time to read it.
ReplyDeleteI quite enjoyed it, Aj, so if you still want to read it, I recommend it.
DeleteThe Year of Living Danishly sounds interesting! My TTT
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carrie. It really is. I love Denmark and her account was nice and funny.
DeleteAs an expat, I'm always interested in reading stories that include expats.
ReplyDeletePam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/mature-citizens-of-the-world-books-featuring-mature-characters/
Same here, Pam. Where have you lived and where do you come from originally?
DeleteFun topic! I also lived quite a few years abroad.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting to see how many of my blogger friends also experienced living abroad. So glad I chose this topic. Where did you live, Cindy?
DeleteGreat choice for this week's TTT! I never would have thought of it. :D
ReplyDeleteP.S. This is Lark@ LarkWrites.
DeleteThanks for that addition, Lark. The blogsited seem to be playing up again, I get so many "anonymous" replies.
DeleteAnyway, we all think about something that we are interested in or that we are close to, this was my life, so I thought about it. If I had never lived abroad, I might not have.
Interesting, unique topic! I love it.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Thanks, Susan. I'm looking forward to yours.
DeleteA good mixture of expat novels. They are always interesting to read. I have only read Villette and The Paris Wife, and have read another excellent book by Sendker.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many books about expats, it was hard to choose. And yes, Sendker has written a lot of great books. Thanks, Lisbeth.
DeleteI would definitely recommend Nowhere in Africa, it is excellent. And you might enjoy the Danish book and compare what she might have made of Sweden.