Book recommendations for extended travel in southeast Europe
May 8, 2017 9:06 AM Subscribe
Sometime next summer we're going to travel for an extended period of time (3+ months) through southeast Europe. Probably starting in Turkey/Istanbul and working west/north. Can you give me any fiction or non-fiction book/author recommendations related to the area?
The suggestions can be wide-ranging. Some examples on my list so far to give you an idea:
The suggestions can be wide-ranging. Some examples on my list so far to give you an idea:
- Orhan Pamuk (Snow, Istanbul)
- Misha Glenny(The Balkans)
- Kafka (The Trial, short stories)
- Danilo Kiš (A Tomb for Boris Davidovich, Garden,Ashes)
Best answer: I liked The Historian a great deal. It's long and slow and creepy and interesting, with history and location information against a supernatural mystery
posted by Gorgik at 9:38 AM on May 8, 2017
posted by Gorgik at 9:38 AM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: I would recommend Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy. Theroux's The Pillars of Hercules might also be a good bet, if you can stand Theroux. He is particularly gloomy in this one imo.
posted by rdnnyc at 9:44 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rdnnyc at 9:44 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak
The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht
posted by carolr at 9:44 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht
posted by carolr at 9:44 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Between the Woods and the Water is the second book of Patrick Leigh Fermor's account of walking across Europe to Istanbul just prior to WWII, and covers more of the territory you'll be in.
posted by praemunire at 10:09 AM on May 8, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 10:09 AM on May 8, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I was going to recommend Olivia Manning and Patrick Leigh Fermor, but I see they're already in the mix, so I'll just warn you that Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (from the first comment) is indeed both classic and really interesting, but it's also fatally prejudiced in favor of the Serbs—West completely swallowed their self-mythology and believed in their right and historical destiny to rule the South Slavs. Enjoy the wonderful writing and storytelling and take all the history and politics with a huge amount of salt; don't be suckered in like poor Robert D. Kaplan (who based his whole Balkan worldview on her ideas in the '90s).
posted by languagehat at 11:02 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by languagehat at 11:02 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: You pretty much have to read the Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric. It's a beautiful book.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:09 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 11:09 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: > You pretty much have to read the Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric. It's a beautiful book.
Yes, but it has to come with a serious warning: there's an entire chapter devoted to a detailed description of impalement, which is so horrible I've never been able to get it out of my mind. If you can handle that, it's a superb novel.
posted by languagehat at 11:13 AM on May 8, 2017
Yes, but it has to come with a serious warning: there's an entire chapter devoted to a detailed description of impalement, which is so horrible I've never been able to get it out of my mind. If you can handle that, it's a superb novel.
posted by languagehat at 11:13 AM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: Claudio Magris's Danube defies description or genre classification, but it's engrossing, philosophical, and quite moving.
(Naturally, this is the area it covers.)
posted by Beardman at 11:28 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
(Naturally, this is the area it covers.)
posted by Beardman at 11:28 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oh, and depending on how far north you're going, Simon Winder's Danubia might be helpful. It's a fun read (no impalement in this one, unless I forgot something, in which case, apparently not as gruesome an impalement as Bridge on the Drina), and it's pretty wide-ranging in scope. If you make it to Budapest and Vienna, it's a must-read.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:52 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 11:52 AM on May 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Two more Danube books: Nick Thorpe and Andrew Eames
posted by soelo at 1:10 PM on May 8, 2017
posted by soelo at 1:10 PM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: Istros Books specialises in translated fiction from the Balkans. I've seen good reviews of Quiet Flows the Una, in particular.
posted by cardinalandcrow at 2:40 PM on May 8, 2017
posted by cardinalandcrow at 2:40 PM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier is an amazing travel book about a couple of young men in the early 1950s driving across huge swathes of Europe and Asia. They spend a fair amount of time in areas you'll be near.
I see Patrick Leigh Fermor has already been recommended. I heartily concur.
posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 3:11 PM on May 8, 2017
I see Patrick Leigh Fermor has already been recommended. I heartily concur.
posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 3:11 PM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple.
posted by chinston at 6:59 PM on May 8, 2017
posted by chinston at 6:59 PM on May 8, 2017
Best answer: Kapka Kassabova's The Border has been on my to-read list for a while now. Covers this part of the world. It was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week earlier this year.
posted by sagwalla at 3:40 AM on May 9, 2017
posted by sagwalla at 3:40 AM on May 9, 2017
Best answer: Dervish and Death by Meša Selimović
Not a book, but I think the movie Before the rain paints a beautiful picture of a certain part of that troubled area. Highly recommended.
posted by gakiko at 4:19 AM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not a book, but I think the movie Before the rain paints a beautiful picture of a certain part of that troubled area. Highly recommended.
posted by gakiko at 4:19 AM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by theweasel at 9:32 AM on May 8, 2017