Purple Iris reads around the world

Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

I have not been to very many countries and a lot of them are in the Caribbean, so too tiny to show up on the map! I thought it'd be fun to see how many countries I have traveled to in books, though. I will use the official UN list and add Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Palestine. I am counting authors (including diasporic authors) with a work set in the place they're from.

I have a feeling it will take me a while to set up this thread!

1 Afghanistan
- The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
2 Albania
3 Algeria
- Le bus dans la ville by Yahia Belaskri (2008)
- Si tu cherches la pluie, elle vient d'en haut by Yahia Belaskri (2010)
- Surtout ne te retourne pas by Maissa Bey (2005)
- Le gone du Chaaba by Azouz Begag (1986)
- Shérazade by Leila Sebbar (1982)
4 Andorra
5 Angola
6 Antigua and Barbuda
- Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid (1990)
7 Argentina
8 Armenia
9 Australia
- An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister (2025)
- The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty (2005)
- Addition by Toni Jordan (2008)
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (2014)
- What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (2004)
10 Austria
11 Azerbaijan
12 Bahamas
13 Bahrain
14 Bangladesh
15 Barbados
- How the one-armed sister sweeps her house by Cherie Jones (2021)
- The Stone gatherer by Esther Philips (2009)
16 Belarus
17 Belgium
- La Télévision by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (1997)
- L'appareil-photo by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (1988)
- La salle de bain by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (1985)
18 Belize
19 Benin
- Afi et le tambour magique by Théda Midiohouan
20 Bhutan

21 Bolivia
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 Botswana
24 Brazil
25 Brunei
26 Bulgaria
27 Burkina Faso
28 Burundi
29 Cambodia
- Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (2021)
30 Cameroon
- Behold the dreamers by Imbolo Mbue (2016)
- Une vie de boy by Ferdinand Oyono (1956)
- Le vieux nègre et la médaille by Ferdinand Oyono (1956)
31 Canada
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908)
- Il pleuvait des oiseaux by Jocelyne Saucier (2011)
- Still Life by Louise Penny (2005)
- I hope this finds you well by Natalie Sue (2024)
32 Cape Verde
33 Central African Republic
34 Chad
35 Chile
- Une ardente patience by Antonio Skarmeta (1985)
36 China
37 Colombia
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1981)
38 Comoros
39 Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Kinshasa)
- Congo Inc. by In Koli Jean Bofane (2014)
40 Congo, Republic of the (Brazzaville)
- Le chercheur d'Afriques by Henri Lopes (1990)
- Jazz et vin de palme by Emmanuel Dongala (1982)
- Bleu-Blanc-Rouge by Alain Mabanckou (1998)
- Le coeur des enfants léopards by Wilfried N'Sonde (2007)
- Le pleurer-rire by Henri Lopes (1982)

41 Costa Rica
xx Côte d'Ivoire
- Les soleils des indépendences by Ahmadou Kourouma (1970)
- Un Nègre à Paris by Bernard Dadié (1959)
- Allah n'est pas obligé by Ahmadou Kourouma (2000)
- Yacouba, chasseur africain by Ahmadou Kourouma (1998)
42 Croatia
- Girl at war by Sara Novic (2015)
43 Cuba
- Tropique des silences by Karla Suarez (1999)
- The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (2010)
- Waiting for snow in Havana by Carlos Eire (2003)
44 Cyprus
45 Czech Republic
46 Denmark
47 Djibouti
48 Dominica
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966)
49 Dominican Republic
- In the time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (1994)
- Dominicana by Angie Cruz (2019)
- The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2007)
- How not to drown in a glass of water by Angie Cruz (2022)
- In the name of Salomé by Julia Alvarez (2000)
50 East Timor
51 Ecuador
52 Egypt
53 El Salvador
54 Equatorial Guinea
55 Eritrea
56 Estonia
57 Eswatini
58 Ethiopia
59 Fiji
60 Finland

* add Curacao

61 France
- Le paysan de Paris by Louis Aragon (1926)
- La Jalousie by Alain Robbe-Grillet (1957)
- Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faiza Guène (2004)
- Le Petit Nicolas et les copains by René Goscinny (1963)
- Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant (1885)
62 Gabon
63 Gambia
64 Georgia
65 Germany
66 Ghana
- Ghana must go by Taiye Selasi (2013)
- The Beautyful ones are not yet born by Ayi Kwei Armah (1968)
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016)
- His only wife by Peace Adzo Medie (2020)
- Maame by Jessica George (2023)
67 Greece
68 Grenada
- Angel by Merle Collins (1987)
- The ladies are upstairs by Merle Collins (2011)
- Lady in a boat by Merle Collins (2003)
69 Guadeloupe
- L'exil selon Julia by Gisèle Pineau (1996)
- Là où les chiens aboient par la queue by Estelle-Sarah Bulle (2018)
- Traversée de la Mangrove by Maryse Condé (1989)
- La vie sans fards by Maryse Condé (2012)
- Le coeur à rire et à pleurer by Maryse Condé (1999)
70 Guatemala
71 Guinea
- L'Enfant noir by Camara Laye (1953)
72 Guinea-Bissau
73 Guyana
74 Haiti
- Rosalie l'infame by Evelyne Trouillot (2003)
- Le mirador aux étoiles by Evelyne Trouillot (2007)
- Les Enfants des héros by Lyonel Trouillot (2002)
- Le Joug by Annie Desroy (1934)
- Bèbè Gòlgota by Pierre Michel Chéry (2007)
75 Honduras
76 Hungary
77 Iceland
- Hiver Arctique by Arnaldur Indridason (2005)
- La cité des Jarres by Arnaldur Indridason (2000)
- Voices by Arnaldur Indridason (2003)
- Snjor by Ragnar Jonasson (2010)
- Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (2005)
78 India
79 Indonesia
80 Iran
- Désorientale by Négar Djavadi (2016)

81 Iraq
82 Ireland
- Big girl, small town by Michelle Gallen (2020)
- Factory girls by Michelle Gallen (2022)
- The Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty (2004)
- Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes (1997)
- Last chance saloon by Marian Keyes (1999)
83 Israel
84 Italy
- La fille dans le brouillard by Donato Carrisi (2015)
85 Ivory Coast replaced with Cote d'Ivoire
86 Jamaica
- Here comes the sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn (2016)
- The long song by Andrea Levy (2010)
- Augustown by Kei Miller (2016)
- Frying Plaintain by Zalika Reid-Benta (2019)
87 Japan
- Convenience store woman by Sayaka Murata (2016)
- When the emperor was divine by Julie Otsuka (2002)
88 Jordan
89 Kazakhstan
90 Kenya
- A grain of wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1967)
91 Kiribati
92 Korea, North (Democratic People's Republic of)
93 Korea, South (Republic of Korea)
- Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo (2016)
- The Vegetarian by Han Kang (2007)
- Welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum (2022)
- The Disaster Tourist by Ko-Eun Yun (2020)
94 Kuwait
95 Kyrgyzstan
96 Laos
97 Latvia
98 Lebanon
99 Lesotho
100 Liberia

101 Libya
102 Liechtenstein
103 Lithuania
104 Luxembourg
105 Madagascar
106 Malawi
107 Malaysia
108 Maldives
109 Mali
110 Malta
111 Marshall Islands
112 Martinique
- Cahier d'un retour au pays natal by Aimé Césaire
- Le Nègre et l'Amiral by Raphael Confiant (1988)
- Solibo Magnifique by Patrick Chamoiseau (1988)
113 Mauritania
114 Mauritius
- Made in Mauritius by Amal Sewtohul (2012)
- Eve de ses décombres by Ananda Devi (2006)
- Le sari vert by Ananda Devi (2009)
115 Mexico
- Like water for chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1989)
116 Micronesia
117 Moldova
118 Monaco
119 Mongolia
120 Montenegro

121 Morocco
122 Mozambique
123 Myanmar
124 Namibia
125 Nauru
126 Nepal
127 Netherlands
128 New Zealand
129 Nicaragua
130 Niger
131 Nigeria
- My sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018)
- Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
- Half of a yellow sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)
- Stay with me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (2017)
- What it means when a man falls from the sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (2017)
132 North Macedonia
133 Norway
- Hellfire by Karin Fossum (2014)
- Don't look back by Karin Fossum (2002)
- Secondes noires by Karin Fossum (2002)
- Broken by Karin Fossum (2006)
- The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum (2013)
134 Oman
135 Pakistan
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (2007)
- Comment s'en mettre plein les poches en Asie mutante by Mohsin Hamid (2013)
136 Palau
137 Palestine
- Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (2017)
- Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa (2010)
- Recognizing the stranger by Isabella Hammad (2024)
- Le lit de l'étrangère by Mahmoud Darwich (1999)
- A Woman is no man by Etaf Rum (2019)
138 Panama
139 Papua New Guinea
140 Paraguay

141 Peru
142 Philippines
- Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (2019)
143 Poland
144 Portugal
- Blindness by Jose Saramago (1995)
145 Qatar
146 Romania
147 Russia
148 Rwanda
149 Saint Kitts and Nevis
150 Saint Lucia
151 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
152 Samoa
153 San Marino
154 Sao Tome and Principe
155 Saudi Arabia
156 Senegal
- Le docker noir by Ousmane Sembène (1981)
- L'aventure ambigue by Cheikh Hamidou Kane (1961)
- Une si longue lettre by Mariama Ba (1981)
- Le mandat by Ousmane Sembène (1989)
- Les bouts de bois de Dieu by Ousmane Sembène (1960)
157 Serbia
158 Seychelles
159 Sierra Leone
160 Singapore

*add Puerto Rico
- When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago (1994)
- Down these mean streets by Piri Thomas (1967)

Scotland
- L'homme de Lewis by Peter May (2011)

161 Slovakia
162 Slovenia
163 Solomon Islands
164 Somalia
- Bless the daughter raised by a voice in her head by Warsan Shire (2022)
165 South Africa
- Born a crime by Trevor Noah (2016)
166 South Sudan
167 Spain
168 Sri Lanka
169 Sudan
170 Suriname
171 Sweden
- Le sang versé by Asa Larsson (2005)
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (2009)
- The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (2006)
- Britt-Marie was here by Fredrik Backman (2014)
- A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012)
172 Switzerland
173 Syria
174 Tajikistan
175 Tanzania
176 Thailand
177 Togo
- Al Capone le malien by Sami Tchak (2011)
178 Tonga
179 Trinidad and Tobago
- Where the rhythm takes you by Sarah Dass (2021)
- Sweethand by N.G. Peltier (2021)

180 Tunisia

181 Turkey
- La batarde d'Istanbul by Elif Shafak (2006)
182 Turkmenistan
183 Tuvalu
184 Uganda
- Everything is fine here by Iryn Tushabe (2025)
185 Ukraine
186 United Arab Emirates
187 United Kingdom and Northern Ireland - I will probably list all Irish books together
- A bear called Paddington by Michael Bond (1958)
188 United States
- Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)
- Zami: A New spelling of my name by Audre Lorde (1982)
- Brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (2014)
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)
- Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
189 Uruguay
190 Uzbekistan
191 Vanuatu
192 Venezuela
193 Vietnam
- Calomnies by Linda Le (1993)
194 Yemen
195 Zambia
196 Zimbabwe
- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (2013)
- Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (1988)

Welcome to the group! I hope you like it here :-)

>2 purpleiris: Looking good so far thats a good idea to use books and authors might do the same

Thank you both for the welcome. I am hoping to find time this weekend to get started!

Well I did manage to get started. I've mostly filled in what I've read from the Caribbean and Africa. This exercise has made me realize that some of my books did not survive the migration from Goodreads, so I'll have to fill some in at a later date. Also, I may revise my rule of including mostly fiction, memoirs and poetry. For some authors I've read way more nonfiction than fiction and I'd argue their work is grounded in their home countries, so we'll see. Poetry also poses the same problem. For those places where I've read more than five books, I've just picked my favorites.

I regret numbering the countries, because there are things I want to change and now I have to renumber everything.

I think I'll tackle Asia next weekend.

I can see that your thread is going to be a good source for me, especially for books from the Caribbean. Welcome!

>17 labfs39: Thank you!

A belated welcome from me as well!

>19 MissBrangwen: Thank you! Good to "see" you here.

I was able to add my first new global read since starting this thread. I finished Everything is fine here yesterday. It is written by a Ugandan-Canadian and set in Uganda.

>21 purpleiris: That does sound good. Noting.

>22 labfs39: I hope you enjoy it!

>21 purpleiris: Noting this, too. Thanks for the review!

I have made some headway in filling in what I've already read, but I still have a lot to go! I would like to avoid listing an author more than once for a country, so I might change some of my entries as I read more. It doesn't help that I don't always note where books are set when I catalogue them. It is fun to have a reason to go through my shelves so carefully. There are books I've read and liked that I have completely forgot!

What does the bolding signify in your lists?

>26 labfs39: Places I've been!

>27 purpleiris: Ah! Thanks!

>28 labfs39: No problem. Hopefully I can add a few more to my "bold" list in the next couple of years.

As I go through and add more books to my list, I am realizing I will need to modify my "rules." I am thinking than rather than just counting books set in a specific country, I will also include books set in a community of immigrants from that country. I also need to modify my list of places. I feel like Scotland should be on its own and not under the UK, for example. On the other hand, I am counting Ireland and Northern Ireland together.

>30 purpleiris: Ah, welcome to the weeds. :-) I have chosen to separate out individual countries in the UK, as well as provinces in Canada and some divisions in Russia. You can make yourself crazy defining and redefining your rules, but I find it so much fun, lol.