Literary Region Nominations • November 2014

[HomeInMyShoes]

I'll also nominate from Indonesia with what I believe is my last nomination chance, The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirati which is just a very fun read:

From Goodreads:

Spoiler:

Originally written in Bahasa, The Rainbow Troops was first published in 2005 and sold a record-breaking five million copies in Indonesia. The novel tells the inspiring and closely autobiographical tale of the trials and tribulations that the ten motley students (nicknamed the Rainbow Troops) and two teachers from Muhammadiyah Elementary School on Belitong Island, Indonesia, undergo to ensure the continuation of the children’ s education. The poverty-stricken school suffers the constant threat of closure by government officials, greedy corporations, natural disasters and the students’ own lack of self-confidence. The story is written from the perspective of Ikal, who is six years old when the novel opens. Just as the author himself did as a young man, Ikal goes to college and eventually wins a scholarship to go abroad, beating incredible odds to become a writer.

This delightful, inspiring book has a fable-like quality that reminds us why we love stories— heartwarming stories, funny stories, stories that remind us of the precious things in life. Ikal and his band of plucky cohorts face obstacles large and small, and the reader can’ t help but root for them to beat the odds and get the education— and life— they deserve. The setting is as compelling and memorable as the characters, and a rare window into a world we know little about.

The Rainbow Troops is the first of a tetralogy of novels that have all become bestsellers in Indonesia. It was adapted for the screen and shown at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I was worried that after we already did "All Quiet on the Western Front", nobody would want another war book.

Except that we didn't read All Quiet.

Couldn't resist. But I think it's important to note there's not a big overlap especially these days and it would be a shame if a choice in one club conditioned the choice in the other, given discrete participation.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I frequent both clubs when I'm not burying myself in crazy challenges.

I do understand your point though.

Originally Posted by Billi

Well, this is going to be a very depressing month!

I support
- Novel Without a Name by Duong The Huong and
- The Sorrow of War by Bảo Ninh.

Sorry that I missed the region selection vote. I'd have tipped it to Japan if I'd voted when it was tied up.


I'll add my vote for these two books.

[paola]

I'll fourth Novel without a name.

Homeinmyshoes, I think you have a vote back, as when you supported Stones cry out it had already four nominations.

[Bookpossum]

sun surfer must be caught up with other things, so apologies if I'm overstepping the mark, but I have the time to check out the votes. A couple of people are due to have votes back:

Hamlet and paola each voted for Novel Without a Name after it had received four votes, i.e. issybird, Bookpossum, Billi and HIMS.

HIMS gets a vote back for The Stones Cry Out which was fully nominated by paola, Bookpossum, issybird and Bookworm_Girl, as paola said.

At this stage The Sorrow of War has three votes - caleb, Billi and Hamlet and The Rainbow Troops has one vote from HIMS.

I think I'm right - hope that helps.

[Billi]

Thank you very much, Bookpossum.

Then The Rainbow Troops will get a second vote by me.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I will third The Rainbow Troops.

[sun surfer]

We have about six hours left open for nominations!

Whew, quite a slew of posts in the last day. As Bookpossum mentioned, some people have received votes back for these books that were already fully nominated:

HIMS (2) - Novel without a Name, The Stones Cry Out
Hamlet (1) - Novel without a Name
paola (1) - Novel without a Name

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

sun surfer must be caught up with other things, so apologies if I'm overstepping the mark, but I have the time to check out the votes...hope that helps.

Oh yes, that does help and feel free to help out like this. Sometimes, especially when nominations are during the week, I may not be able to update as often as I would like. For the first year or so of the club, I had help like this from another poster and when he vanished I had to tackle it by myself.

[sun surfer]

I fourth The Rainbow Troops.

I also want to say, kudos to all of you who found nominations this month. I looked but couldn't find anything to nominate. The selection is looking very interesting and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say after perusing the region map that this is probably the most difficult region to find nominations for because other regions seem to have anchor countries with a relatively high literary output (South Africa for Sub-Saharan Africa, India for South Asia, Australia for South Pacific, China, Japan, etc. etc.). Granted, I was unfortunately quite busy this week and didn't have time to really delve as I would have liked, but I had a dickens of a time with the searching I did do. I was especially looking for Thailand and suppose I picked the wrong country, seeing as no nomination thus far is from there. That's not to say that I didn't find any books, only that I didn't find any that have an English translation and are worthy of nominating, and so again kudos for these fine nominations we do have.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^I completely agree. I found many countries in this region very difficult to find things I wanted to read in English for my challenge. Nice to see a nomination for a country I didn't visit come through the nomination process. I'd be surprised if it doesn't get my vote.

[sun surfer]

Alright, I've found a good one to nominate. It may be too late to get it to fully nominated, but at least I can contribute in case anyone would be interested in reading it on their own:

Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj, Thailand

Though not so well known in the West, this book is very famous in Thailand and is considered as a major classic there.

From Goodreads:

This English version of the Thai novel Si Phaendin tells the rich and entertaining story of one woman's life both inside and outside the royal palace in Bangkok. Spanning a period of four reigns, from King Chulalongkorn to the reign of his grandson King Ananda, this popular modern classic gives insight into the social and political issues facing Thailand from the 1890s through the turbulent years of World War II. "Kukrit, famous as a journalist, wit, connoisseur of the arts, and, for much of his life, a politician, and once the prime minister. . . is also a world-class writer, equipped with imagination, humor, narrative skill, and keen understanding of human nature."--The New York Review of Books


Here is some more info on it (careful, I didn't read it all, though it may just be historical info it seems like there may be some book spoilers): Four Reigns - a literary masterpiece

And here's a blog post about it: Bangkok - Kukrit Pramote & Four Reigns

[HomeInMyShoes]

I will second it, even though I am always fearful of 650+ page historical books.

[sun surfer]

That gave me pause as well, but I was intrigued that it is so famous and highly regarded in Thailand yet so unknown in the West, and it's rated at 4.11 on Goodreads.

Anyway, it's all a matter of perspective - compared to War & Peace, it's positively featherweight!

[desertblues]

I third Four Reigns.