This is the post where I will list countries and the books set in them. Of course, you do not have to read the books on this list, you can read others as well. These are just recommendations if you don’t know where to start. I’ll update it whenever I can and get new recommendations. If you send me recommendations, please make sure to tell me which country a book is set in.
Afghanistan:
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini
Argentina:
- On heroes and tombs by Ernesto Sábato
- Papers in the wind by Eduardo Sacheri
- Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Piñeiro
Australia:
- Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
- The incredible adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil
- Harp on the South by Ruth Park
Canada:
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Maragret Atwood
- A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
- Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
- Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
- Libellensommer by Antje Babendererde
- The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
China:
- Buffalo Boy by Sherry Garland
- Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson
Costa Rica:
- Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Czech Republic:
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
England:
- Die Liebe zum Regen by Claire Hoffmann
- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
- A Quiet kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (&Spain)
- A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (& Russia, & USA)
- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (& Egypt & France)
Egypt:
- The Son of Light by Christian Jacq
- Death comes as the End by Agatha Christie
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (&Spain)
- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (& France & England)
Finland:
- The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
- Als die Steine noch Vögel waren by Marjaleena Lembcke
France:
- Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec
- Love from Paris by Alexandra Potter
- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
- Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
- All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
- Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (& Egypt & England)
Germany:
- The Flying classroom by Erich Kästner
- Igraine the brave by Cornelia Funke
- For every solution, a problem by Kerstin Gier
- Drei Männer im Schnee by Erich Kästner
- The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
- Ruby Red – Kerstin Gier
- The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
Greece:
- My Map of You by Isabelle Broom
- My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durell
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
India:
- A suitable boy by Vikram Seth
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
- Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck
Iceland:
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Ireland:
- Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Italy:
- Death at LaFenice by Donna Leon
- The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
- Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer
- Il visconte dimezzato by Italo Calvino
- Pompeii by Robert Harris
- Feuer und Glas by Brigitte Riebe
- Masquerade by Kylie Fornasier
Japan:
- Battle Royale by Kōshun Takami
- The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Thomas& Dorothy Hoobler
Kenya:
- The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré
Laos:
- The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Netherlands:
- The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Panama:
- The Tailor of Panama by John Le Carré
Russia:
- Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky
- The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith
- Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko
- A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (& England, & USA)
- The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye
Scotland:
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
South Africa:
- Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
- Shades by Marguerite Poland
- Welcome to our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe
Spain:
- Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (&England)
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (&Egypt)
- The time of the doves by Mercè Rodoreda
- Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- The Prince of the Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Sweden:
- The Farm by Tom Robb Smith
- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
- Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
- Circle by Mats Strandberg & Sara Elfgren
Switzerland:
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Heidi by Johanna Spyri
- Almost like Spring by Alex Capus
Turkey:
- And I Darken by Kiersten White (Ottoman Empire)
USA:
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
- See you in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
- A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (& England, & Russia)
Zimbabwe:
- We need new names by NoViolet Bulawayo (plus USA)
