The House on the Lagoon - Rosario Ferre

The House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre

I chose this book as a Puerto Rico novel for the '80 Books around the World Challenge', and I'm really glad I did. I loved it.


The novel is told by Isabel Mendizabal who writes the history of both her own and her husband's families, revealing secrets, scandals and exposing family lies.
Her husband Quintin discovers her novel and the rift between them gradually increases as she exposes the truth of their lives.
The history of Puerto Rico is woven in to the story, as is superstition, race, politics etc.

The novel is witty, charming and well written.

Finished 7 June 2008
Read as part of the '80 Books around the World Challenge'

They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel

They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel (Samoa)

A lovely novel, weaving together generations of Samoan women. At the centre of the story is the Samoan woman's tattoo, brought over from Fiji by Siamese twins. A story of love, family, betrayal, war, and more.

Finsihed 1/6/08
Part of the Aound the World in 80 books Challenge

Breath, eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat (Haiti)

Another beautiful book. Heart aching at times, but a story of courage and survival...and the lives of 3 generations of women.

A must read.

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to reading this book. It's wonderful!
I read it over lunch time today.

Set in Whangara, New Zealand and told by Rawiri, it's the story of Kahu, the Maori girl destined to become the next whale rider. Interweaving the whale story, Maori legends, and family life, this is an enchanting book.

Read as part of the 80 books around the world and Orbis Terrarum challenges.
Finished 15/05/08

The Rape of Sita - Lindsey Collen

The Rape of Sita by Lindsey Collen

Set in Mauritius, this is the story of Sita's remembering ...
It is beautifully written, enchantingly told ...despite its harrowing and tragic tale. It is also a story of hope, of courage and of survival.

A recommende read for all women and men.

Independent on Sunday review:
‘A tragic and heroic tale . . . shot through with lyricism’

Finished 1/5/08
Part of 80 books around the world challenge and Orbis Terrarum Challenge

Around the world in 80 books update

Finished compiling my list of 80 books for this international challenge today. Really had to think about what I wanted to read and then look for books on the web. They're a mixture of fiction and a few non-fiction, with the majority being written by women (a conscious choice).
I also made sure I covered each continent in my choices.
I'm really looking forward to reading these books an have already ordered a few from the library to start me off. As there's no time limit, I can read what I want, when I want!

Around the World in 80 books

The aim of this challenge is to read 80 books from 80 different countries aound the world, making sure you read a selection of books from each continent.

No time limit ....

So far my proposed books are:

1. Evelina - Frances Burney (England)
2. The Princesse De Cleves - Madame De La Fayette (France)
3. Faust - Goethe (Germany)
4. Divine Comedy - Dante (Italy)
5 Shanghai Baby - Wei Hui (China)
7 Dr. Zhivago (Russia)
8 The Kite Runner (Afganistan) 29/06/08
9 We Just Want to Live Here ~ (Israel)
10 Septembers of Shiraz ~ (Iran)
11 Istanbul: Memories and the City ~ (Turkey)
12. Jasmine - Bharati Mukherjee (India / USA)
13. The Rape of Sita - Lindsey Collen (Mauritius) 1/5/08
14. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera (New Zealand) 15/5/08
15 No Horizon Is So Far ~ (Antarctica)
16 Stolen Lives ~ (Morocco)
17. Our Man in Havana - Graham Greene (Cuba)
18 Voices by Arnaldur Indridason and Bernard Scudder (Iceland)
19. House on Dream Street American Woman in Vietnam (Adventura Books) by Dana Sachs (Vietnam)

20 The Dancing Girls of Lahore by Louise Brown (Pakistan)
21 Beowulf (Scandinavia)
22 The Wild Irish Girl by Lady Morgan (Ireland)
23 The scarlet letter – Nathaniel Hawthorn (USA) 30/03
24 Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (Canada)
25 The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner (South Africa)
26 Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi (Egypt)
27 Bread for the Departed by Bogdan Wojdowski (Poland)
28. Shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spain)
30 Eunice Fleet by Lily Tobias (Wales)
31 With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet - Alexandra David-Neel (Tibet)
32. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (Sudan)
33. Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Columbia)
34. a novel by Isabel Allende (Chile)
35. a novel by Rosario Ferré (Puerto Rico)

36. a novel by Sandra Cisneros (Mexico)

37. a novel by either Snadra Benítez or Limón, Graciela (El Salvador)
38. a novel by Julia Alavarez (Dominican Republic)
39. A novel by Ahlam Mosteghanemi (Tunisia)
40. The House on Arnus Square by Samar Attar (Syria)
41. Steps under water - by Alicia Kozameh (Argentina)
42. a novel by Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua)
43. a novel by Ingeborg Lauterstein (Austria)
44.a book by Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma)
45. They Would Never Hurt a Fly by Slavenka Drakulic (Croatia)
46. Where She Came from: A Daughter's Search for Her Mother's History by Helen Epstein (Czech Republic)
47. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (Australia)

48. a novel by Emily Nasrallah (Lebanon)
49. Breath, eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat (Haiti) 25/06/08
50. A Lady's Ride Across Spanish Honduras in 1881 by Mary Lester (Honduras)
51. Kowloon Tong: A Novel of Hong Kong by Paul Theroux (Hong Kong)
52. Intimate Enemies: No Sin South of the Equator Joyce Cavalcante (Brazil)
53. Madness visible : a memoir of a war / Janine di Giovanni (Serbia)
54 Solomon Time: Adventures in the South Pacific by Will Randall (Solomon Islands)
55. Fox Girl by Nora Okja Keller (Korea)
56. The Darkroom of Damocles by W.F. Hermans (Netherlands)
57. Black Seconds by Karin Fossum and Charlotte Barslund (Norway)
58. Day of Confession by Allan Folsom (Vatican City)
60. The Cyprus Conspiracy: America, Espionage and the Turkish Invasion by Brendan O'Malley and Ian Craig (Cyprus)
61. The Story of My Face by Kathy Page (Finland)
62. Peregrinations of a pariah : 1833-1834 / Flora Tristan (Peru)
63. They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel (Samoa) 01/06/08
64, Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea by Kira Salak (Papua New Guinea)
65. The hacienda : my Venezuelan years / Lisa St Aubin de Terán. (Venezuela)
66. Lies by Enrique de Heriz (Guatamala)
67Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy (UK/ Jamaica)
68. At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand (Trinidad)
69. Prime time by Liza Marklund. (Sweden)
70. A Visit from Voltaire by Dinah Lee Küng (Switzerland)
71. The Last Romantic: Biography of Queen Marie of Roumania (Phoenix Giants) by Hannah Pakula
72. Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali (Portugal)
73. Absolution by Caro Ramsay (Scotland)
74. The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi (Greece)
75. The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson (Hungary)
76. Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe (Japan)
77. Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson (Iraq)
78, My Life Story: The Autobiography of a Berber Woman by Fadhma A. M Amrouche and Dorothy S. Blair (Algeria)
79. Desert Dawn by Waris Dirie (Somalia)
80. The Red Moon by Kuwana Haulsey (Kenya)