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.

Hong Kong Author Dung Kai-cheung: Atlas

 Reading the World

Atlas: The Archaeology of an Imaginary City  by  Dung Kai-cheung — Hong Kong

I know that technically Hong Kong is considered part of China BUT Hong Kong culturally and historically is different from mainland China although recent events are changing that.  I lived in Hong Kong from February of 2011 until August of 2012.  I lived across the mainland border from Hong Kong in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China from August 2013 until October, 2020.  

Culturally Hong Kong was very different from China as of 2013.

So as I was making a list of books to read representing the different world jurisdictions, I included Hong Kong separately as I do Taiwan.

I searched online for Authors from Hong Kong and selected Atlas by Kai-cheung Dung by mistake.  I glanced through the page online too quickly.  It was the author above Atlas that I actually was interested in reading but ….  oh well.  

Atlas is different.  It is a novel that revolves around maps.  The story itself revolves around a fictional city of Victoria but clearly revolves around Hong Kong.  For people who have lived in Hong Kong as I did, the book will be more interesting than I suspect it will be to anyone who has never been there.

The discussion of the history behind some of the places I found interesting although I am uncertain how much is true and how much is pure fiction - the book is fiction after all but the history of Cantonese language included seems real.

If you’ve lived in Hong Kong, you may find the book of interest. 

World Reading Progress

So I have now read books from every jurisdiction where I have lived - US (Arkansas), Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China.

Next will be to finish books related to authors from jurisdictions where I have worked.  This would add Canada, Ecuador and Brasil / Brazil.  I’ve read several Canadian authors including Charles de Lint and Margaret Atwood and at least one Brasilian author - Paulo Coelho.  So I need to read something from Ecuador before moving on to authors from places I have only visited on vacation - Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Slovakia, Austria, Japan, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Taiwan.  If we include airports, I can add Switzerland, Malaysia and Qatar.   

2021 Stats

So far in 2021, I have finished 46 books totaling just over 19,000 pages.  I have read books by 33 different authors (18 female) from 13 jurisdictions: the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Norway, Jamaica, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong and a Russian American.

Currently reading:  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Arrowsmith (1926 Pulitzer Prize) by Sinclair Lewis, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (India), The Federalist and the Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab.