Literature from Around the World

When I was a child, my parents would assign me intellectual projects for the summer. I remember one such summer I got a lot of research done on Cleopatra and delivered my findings on a long car ride. 

This summer I am assigning my own project and will attempt to read as many novels from around the world as possible. I may or may not be cheating by including authors my book club will be reading or books that I had planned to ready anyway, but I figure I'm reading something so it's all the same thing. 

Here are the first ten countries (I must apologize for clumping all the countries of Africa together in one massive mess). I need some recommendations and of course if you think the authors I have chosen just do not reflect their country well enough, by all means give me someone else to read. 

I start with Canada, because that is my home and native land. Michael Ondaatje fits perfectly because he's coming up in book club and I have never read The English Patient so that will be a first. 

Next up are those Americans to the south and though I have tried and failed on many occasions I think it is time for me to give Stephen King another chance. He is one of the best selling authors in the world. In terms of sales the options were hard to choose from but I have read one too many Danielle Steel's novels for my liking.

Now I need some help as I venture down the continental divide. I would love to read a good Mexican novel and maybe something from Colombia or Brazil? 

Moving across the sea I have chosen Sjón from Iceland. I'm really excited to dip into some Icelandic contemporary folk tales. 

Then I'm skipping over most of Europe and going home to my motherland of Poland. I'm going to re-read my favourite novel that I last read in high school. Written by Antoni Libera, Madame is "a novel about Poland during the grim years of Soviet-controlled mediocrity which nonetheless sparkles with light and warmth." 

Sweden lucked out and got included only because the next author for book club is Jonas Jonasson and his novel about The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared. 

I can't decide who to read from Africa. This is challenging as there are numerous countries, nationalities and untranslated authors to chose from. I was thinking of Wilbur Smith but I'm worried I may get a skewed look at Africa. 

And last but not least, as I skip over Russia, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, all of South East Asia I end my literary journey in Japan. Haruki Murakami will hopefully begin the next leg on my literary journey into the Asian countries and I can work backwards through all those countries I missed.