Reading the World

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A street photographer on a brightly coloured lane in Singapore.

Reading Singapore: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee

Today’s round the world reading adventures take us to Singapore, with How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee.  Going into this book, my impressions of Singapore were purely of the modern country. If I had to summarise my knowledge, it would be: island city-state, skyscrapers, specifically Marina Bay Sands (surfboard skyscraper), Gardens by the Bay, prosperous, humid, big moths.  Wikipedia tells me that Singapore is not just the main island, it’s actually made up of 65 islands and islets, and the...

A red hut sits on the crest of a hill. It has a thatched roof and green shutters.

Reading Denmark: We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen

Translated by Charlotte Barslund with Emma Ryder, the story follows several generations of fishermen from Marstal, a town located on the island of Ærø, in southern Denmark. We follow Laurids Madsen into battle against the rebelling Germans in 1848. Then his son, Albert, on a round-the-world voyage searching for answers. Finally, we see the Second World War through the eyes of Albert’s stepson, Knud Erik, a captain in the British Navy. 

An Albanian Sunset

Reading Albania: A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare

Over the summer my Instagram feed has been stuffed with beautiful images of Albania. Time and money are preventing me from making a trip to Albania in person right now, so I decided to see if it was possible to satisfy my wanderlust (at least temporarily) by reading a book set there instead.