Reading the World - Ecuador Poso Wells by Gabriela Alemán

 Reading the World - Ecuador   Poso Wells by Gabriela Alemán

When I decided to join the Read the World club, I decided to start with places I have lived - US, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China.  I have now read at least 1 book written by an author from those jurisdictions.

Following where I lived, places where I have worked.  That adds Ecuador to the list since I worked on an agreement for the OCP Pipeline flying to Quito for meetings.  I also did volunteer  work in Brasil (I spell the country as Brasilians spell it).  I’ve read several books written by Paulo Coelho so Brasil is covered.  Finding a book in English written by an Ecuadorian Author was more difficult.  I finally found this one.

Poso Wells is a short novel written around a poor community in Ecuador beset by problems more or less created by the political system.  Without spoiling the plot, a journalist investigating a bizarre event and the disappearance of a presidential candidate finds a bigger story.

You have drama, you have comedy, you have romance, you have intrigue, you have a religious cult, you have corrupt politicians and businesses.  You even have poetry.  What’s not to love?

Seriously I enjoyed reading this book.  I’m glad I unearthed it searching for books written by an Ecuadorian.   One of the reasons I chose her novel is because of her name - Alemán.  I lived and worked in Cuidad Miguel Alemán, Mexico so the connection was slight but enough for me to read this rather than a book by another Ecuadorian author (I only uncovered 1 other so far with books in English that I can locate / get my hands on).

If you can get a copy of Poso Wells to read, do so.  

Future Reading - Reading the World

Now my goal is to complete books written by authors in areas I have traveled.  These are the Bahamas, St Martin, Costa Rica, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Slovakia and Austria. 

I have read several books written by Japanese authors - some of my favorite books in fact.  

Finding books from the other areas in ENGLISH may take some time.  I don’t plan to read linear - I will mix in world authors with other books I am reading - there are simply too many books I want to read. 

 Even reading at the pace I am reading (which is not sustainable) it will take a long time to complete the World list.  So far in 2021 I have completed 67 books.

Think about starting your own reading journey.

Reading the World - Spain - The SHadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

 

An excellent novel by a Spanish author, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, who died too young.

I rarely rate a book 5 stars these days but this is one that I did.  The setting is Spain in the first half of the 20th Century (with a little bit of Paris tossed in) and revolves around a young boy / young man and his quests - one is for love and the other is for information.  The cast of characters are superbly created and the storyline is unique yet authentic.  

The pace of the book will vary - fast, slow, medium as the stage is set, the back story is established and by then you are hooked.   

I enjoy books about books but this isn’t exactly that.  If you like books about books then you should read John Dunning’s Cliff Janeway books.  This is a book however that involves a bookseller and a book and author.  But it is more of a good versus evil plot and a “consequences” of actions.

This isn’t a novel you will probably read in a day.  It is one you will probably read a little and then more.  At least that is what I did.  Then you will reach the point of no return and read it to its conclusion.

For the life philosopher, there are a lot of “quotes” worthy of thought.  I highlighted a lot of phrases, sentences, and thoughts as I read it on my Kindle.  “Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare.”  as Harriet Martineau said.  This is a novel that will at times make you think.

I mistakenly thought it was on the BBC "Big Read" Top 200 list which is why originally picked it up to read.  I've been reading my way through both the Modern Library Best Novels of the 20th Century and the BBC 200.  However it was published after the BBC list was compiled.  It was listed on a list circulated on Social media as being part of the BBC 100 but that list had several books listed that were not in fact on the BBC list. It's a mistake I'm glad I made.  It's a book worth reading and  it just so happens to fit into my latest reading the world project since the author was from Spain.

Reading the World - South Korea

 

The Girl who Wrote Loneliness , Kyung-Sook Shin

“This book … turned out to be not quite fact and not quite fiction …. I wonder if it can be called literature.”    The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness, Kyung-Sook Shin

My 40th book of 2021 and taking me to almost 17,000 pages read.

I have lived in the United States, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China.

I have worked in the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China.  If you include volunteer work, then I also can include Brasil.  

So when I decided to expand my reading to purposely seek out authors from around the globe, I decided I should start with where I lived and worked, then expand to other places.  I have read tons of books written by authors from the USA and Canada.  And I’ve read books written by Mexican Authors, Brazilian Authors and Chinese Authors.  Missing from my reading menagerie were authors from South Korea, Hong Kong and Ecuador.  

How does one choose a book to read.  We all know the familiar adage “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” but I must confess, sometimes I do choose a book to read because of the cover.  Other times I choose a book because it’s title intrigues me and sometimes it is just a feeling.

With “The Girl Who wrote Loneliness” I chose the book because it’s author was South Korean and the title intrigued me.  I’m glad I did

I moved to South Korea in August, 2009 and lived there until February, 2011.  This book is sort of historical fiction and describes a South Korea I never knew mixed with a South Korea I encountered.  How much of the history is truly South Korean history and how much is fiction?   I do not know.  The book describes a South Korea before it's democracy evolved.  People were poor, and worked hard to get an education and improve their economic conditions.  Were conditions in South Korea in the 1980s as described?  

The book follows the life of a young girl who moves from the rural countryside to Seoul to live, work and study.  The story is told by an author who is writing a historical fiction account of those days of her youth.  I don't know the socio-economic history of South Korea to separate the fact from fiction.  I did try to look up an author mentioned in the book and couldn't find anything so even though the person seems real in the book, I now presume she was created for the story.

If you have lived in South Korea in the 21st Century but not earlier, then you should enjoy learning more of Korean culture before South Korea's hard earned economic rise.  The book is captivating and a drama.  It provides insight to a culture very different from the west.  

NOTE:  From Wikipedia:  "Kyung-Sook Shin is a South Korean writer. She is the first South Korean and first woman to win the Man Asian Literary Prize [ in 2012 for 'Please Look After Mom'. ]"

Reading the World: Antarctica

 The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventures to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

When I decided to start trying to read books written by authors from around the world, I had to decide where to begin.  How do I break the world down into manageable segments?  

There are 7 Continents:

    1.    Africa

    2.    Antarctica

    3.    Asia

    4.    Australia or Oceania

    5.    Europe

    6.    North America, and 

    7.    South America

I had read books written by an author from each continent except Antarctica.  The reason is pretty obvious - there are no authors from Antarctica since it is uninhabited except for Science Research bases.  So I decided to include books written by or about people who have visited / spent time in Antarctica.

I explored books searching Antarctica and found this one that had an intriguing title.  So I read it.

The Stowaway is about a Young Polish American William Gawronski who was determined to join Admiral Richard Byrd's American Exploration trip to Antarctica by stowing away on one of the vessels.  I would call it semi-biographical because by the time the book was written, the subject was deceased and information for the book was gathered from newspaper accounts and by interviewing people who knew "Billy" including his second wife and son.  Clearly there would be gaps in knowledge filled in by the author.  There is only a little information on his time in Antarctica.  

While the book wasn't the best written, it did provide an interesting insight into an historical event - the first American exploration of Antarctica from a unique angle - that of a young, Polish American who initially stowed away on a vessel.

  I plan to read another book (or two) based on first hand accounts of Antarctica before I cross Antarctica off my list of Continents.