Tuesday, 11 March 2025

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Expats

     

"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

An Australian in Switzerland

Brontë, Charlotte "Villette" - 1853
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

A Brit in Denmark

A US American in China (written by a German)

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.

15 comments:

  1. 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!

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    1. I 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.

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    2. Yes, I read your review. She sounds like a fun read.

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  2. I 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.

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    1. You'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.

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  3. I’m an expat, too. I love reading other people’s stories about that experience.

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    1. So do I, Lydia. I never knew you were an expat, as well. Where to do you come from, originally.

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  4. Ooh, 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!

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  5. I 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.

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  6. The Year of Living Danishly sounds interesting! My TTT

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  7. As an expat, I'm always interested in reading stories that include expats.
    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/mature-citizens-of-the-world-books-featuring-mature-characters/

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  8. Fun topic! I also lived quite a few years abroad.

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  9. Great choice for this week's TTT! I never would have thought of it. :D

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