Australia
Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993) by
John Marsden
What it’s about: A teenage girl and her
friends return from a camping trip to find that an unidentified foreign
military force has invaded Australia.
Austria
Faust (1787) by Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
What it’s about: In this play, a scholar
named Faust makes a pact with Mephistopheles — the devil — because Faust is
dissatisfied with life. The devil says he will grant Faust a transcendent
moment, but in return, Faust must act as his servant for eternity in hell.
Through the devil’s intervention, Faust falls in love with a beautiful young
girl named Gretchen. Tragedy ensues.
Brazil
Morte e vida Severina
(1955) by João
Cabral de Melo
Neto
What it’s about: Known in English as The
Death of a Severino, this play in verse is about the arduous
journey of a man who is fleeing the drought- and poverty-stricken northeastern
region of Brazil in search of a better situation and the city.
Bulgaria
Under the Yoke (1894) by Ivan Vazov
What it’s about: This novel looks at a
Bulgarian village under Ottoman rule and depicts a failed insurrection in the
1870s that helped trigger the country’s eventual breakaway. The large cast of
characters includes villagers on both sides of the rebellion.
Canada
The Wars (1977) by Timothy Findley
What it’s about: Robert Ross, a
19-year-old Canadian, tries to cope with the death of his sister by enlisting
to fight in World War I. Beset by his own demons, he travels to France where he
fights in the trenches and sees the worst of warfare — and of humanity.
China
Analects by Confucius
What it’s about: This book is a
compilation of the teachings of the ancient philosopher Confucius; it’s
believed to have been written sometime between 475 BC and 221 BC.
Colombia
Cien años de
Soledad (1967) by Gabriel García Márquez
What it’s about: This pioneering
fictional work of magical realism — known to English-language readers as 100
Years of Solitude — traces the rise and fall of a fictional Colombian town
through five generations of the Buendía family, starting in the early 19th
century.
Finland
Seitsemän
veljestä (1870) by Aleksis Kivi
What it’s about: Known in English as
Seven Brothers, this book is about a quarrelsome family of seven brothers and
their struggles in rural Finland. They eventually grow and mature into decent
members of society.
Germany
Tagebuch
der Anne Frank (1947)
What it’s about: Known in English as The
Diary of Anne Frank, this journal was kept by a Jewish girl named Anne Frank as
she lived with her family in hiding in Amsterdam under Nazi occupation.
Indonesia
Laskar Pelangi
(2005) by Andrea Hirata
What it’s about: Known in English as
Rainbow Troops, this novel is based on a true story about ten students from a
remote village in Indonesia who, with the help of a pair of inspiring teachers.
learn to stand up for themselves and their community.
India
Autobiography: The Story of My
Experiments With Truth (1927-1929) by Mohandas K. Gandhi
What it’s about: The Indian leader’s
memoir covers his life from his childhood to his early 50s.
Italy
I Promessi Sposi (1827) by Alessandro Manzoni
What it’s about: Known in English as The
Betrothed, this novel takes place in northern Italy in the first half of the
17th century. Italy was not yet a nation, and this book shows the lives of
villagers living under repressive Spanish rule as well as the impact of a
deadly plague that killed many people..
Russia
War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy
What it’s about: Following the lives and
loves of five families, this epic novel begins in 1805 and continues through
Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.
US
To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) by Harper
Lee
What it’s about: A classic novel about
the American South in the 1930s that illustrates how racism, sexism and
injustice have shaped US history (and still cause harm today).
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