While any book can transport you to another place and time, some do such a good job of conveying a sense of place that you feel like you’ve been to a country or a city, even if you never have. Of course, when you’re really hoping to travel to another place soon, it can be a good idea to take in one of these great reads to get a feeling for the atmosphere and history of your destination (though books of this sort are excellent tools for armchair tourism as well) before you go. Luckily, there are numerous reads rife with rich descriptions of locales around the world, bringing to life places far-flung, long gone, or even close to home. So whether you’re looking for the perfect literary travel accompaniment or just want to explore the world from your couch, pick up one of these amazing reads to experience the Paris of Hemingway, the Dublin of Joyce, or the American South of Faulkner.
Europe
These great books give amazing descriptions of life in Europe, both today and in decades past.
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Hemingway documented his life in Paris during the 1920s in this classic book. It isn’t hard to get people to love Paris, but Hemingway’s writing brings the city to life, describing the literary greats who flocked to the City of Light’s iconic nightclubs, bars, and cafes during the ’20s. The name of the book comes from something Hemingway told his friend later in life, stating, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
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So many novels have been set in London that it’s hard to choose one that can really give a sense of what London is or feels like. One of the London-bound traveler’s best bets for understanding London society post-WWI is Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, which keenly observes the social structure of 1920s London and the lasting effects of the war. Of course, you can’t really go wrong with Dickens for a good London read either, and readers will find his Bleak House to be particularly wonderful as well.
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This collection of essays by Washington Irving was inspired by a visit he made to the Alhambra Palace while traveling in Spain. Irving believed his writing could never do the beauty of the place justice, but readers will have to decide for themselves whether Irving’s descriptions pale in comparison to the beauty of the real deal.
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At the heart of Death in Venice is a writer who visits the city while suffering from writer’s block and finds himself suddenly liberated and uplifted, by the grandness of the city itself as well as a beautiful young man he finds himself inexplicably drawn towards. Strange, mysterious, and perhaps a little bit sad, the novel tells a beautiful story while giving readers a sense of the iconic city of canals.
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Filled with love, betrayal, and philosophical musings, this novel is a classic well worth reading in its own right, whether you plan to travel or not. It’s also full of compelling descriptions of Prague during the ’60s and ’70s when the Soviets were taking over the city, giving any visitor a better understanding of the city as it is today.
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Ireland: Dubliners by James Joyce
This collection of short stories gives a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle-class life in Dublin during the early 20th century. With so many Joyce-related things to do in Dublin, this read is a no-brainer for anyone who wants some background for their trip.
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While the murder mystery at the heart of this novel is compelling, the descriptions of the cold northern regions of Sweden are nearly as much so. Larson’s novels have seen immense success in recent years largely because they’re just plain hard to put down, making them the perfect companion for any Nordic trip.
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This novel creates a fictional history for one of Johannes Vermeer’s most famous paintings. While the story may be fiction, the descriptions of everyday life in Delft are captivating and represent the realities many faced during the 17th century.
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Author Elif Shafak touches on Turkey’s violent past and offers readers a chance to see another side to this often exoticized European nation.
North America
Staying a bit closer to home for your travels? You’ll still get more out of your trip by checking out these books before departing.
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California: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Steinbeck’s book may not capture our image of California as it is today, foregoing the sun-soaked and carefree to focus on the harsh realities settlers in the Salinas Valley faced at the beginning of the 20th century. But it does offers insights into the state’s history while telling a heartbreaking and compelling story of a family torn apart. Light reading it isn’t (both figuratively and literally as it’s several hundred pages long), but it’s a great pre-travel tome to tackle nonetheless.
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Whether you’re hitting up St. Louis or Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, those Midwest-bound will find wit and engaging descriptions of life along the Mississippi aplenty in Twain’s famous novel. Even better, visitors to Hannibal can visit the cave described in the book (aptly called Mark Twain Cave today) and live out the events of the novel in their own way.
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Long Island: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Today, much of Long Island, namely the Hamptons, is still the playground of the rich. Whether you’re staying there, or just doing a little sightseeing, this novel takes an unfaltering look at the wealthy people who summer and party on the island.
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American South: Light in August by William Faulkner
One of Faulkner’s greatest novels, Light in August is set in Mississippi in Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County during the 1930s. It showcases the racism and misogyny that persisted in small towns in the South by interweaving several connected stories.
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Published in 1880, James’ Washington Square tells the story of a daughter and her very domineering father. Visitors to the city will appreciate the descriptions of the 19th-century Washington Square, at the time quiet, genteel, and filled with Federal-style townhouses, many of which still stand today. A more critical look at New York, with a vastly different perspective, can be found in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
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Hollywood has long been the chosen destination for those who want to make it big, though as few do today as back when this novel was written in 1939. West’s tale is set in the Hollywood of the Great Depression, following a group of people who exist on the fringes of the movie industry, desperately hanging on to careers, love, or even their sanity.
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Hawaii: Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
It’s hard to put into words the allure of Hawaii. It is beautiful, mysterious, modern, and ancient. Great for beach reading, or that long plane ride, this epic novel set in the Hawaii of the 1890s follows a young girl who is exiled to Moloka’i for leprosy, along with many others. It will be an awakening to many who know little about Hawaiian history.
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Learn about life of a cattle ranch in post-WWII Texas through the perspective of a young man, caught between an old-time cattleman and his unscrupulous stepson.
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This Nobel Prize-winning book isn’t just a great read (though it is an extraordinarily funny one), it also gives an amazing sense of place, describing a host of interesting characters in the French Quarter during the 1960s and giving what many locals think is the best and most accurate description of their city in a work of fiction.
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Focused on the eponymous character, this novel follows March as he grows up in the poor neighborhoods of Chicago, fumbling for meaning and purpose in his often strange life.
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Whether you’re heading to northern Canada, or the North Pole itself, you can get a taste of the isolation and danger of the Arctic Circle in London’s famous novel of survival that traces the life of a sled dog that returns to the wild.
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This epic novel (It’s almost 900 pages) covers thousands of years of Alaskan history, from the development of the land itself to the people who would end up calling the wilderness their home. While fictional, the novel is filled with history that can help give any traveler some insights into life in the northern state.
Asia
Discover histories and cultures you didn’t know by reading these award-winning and popular novels set in Asia.
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Set in Mumbai, India, this novel follows a series of characters from widely differing backgrounds as they navigate the tumultuous period known as The Emergency. It is a fascinating gateway into understanding the history of India, exposing both the beauty and the terror the city of Mumbai holds with striking detail and immediacy. It’s a long read, but a hard one to put down.
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Japan: Shogun by James Clavell
This bestselling novel is set in feudal Japan and documents the brutal conflicts between powerful overlords as they vie for the power and prestige of the Shogunate position. While the novel is told from the perspective of an English sailor, it’s still a fascinating glimpse into Japan’s past. For those who are more interested in getting a sense of modern Japan, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami or Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, however surreal they may be at times, are excellent ways to gain an understanding of Japanese culture in the modern day.
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Set in 19th-century China, this historical novel follows two young girls, bound as eternal friends as they grow up, get married, and face some of the most challenging events in Chinese history. Tragic and beautiful, it will make the long flight to China fly by.
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Reading Greene’s evocative prose, you can almost feel the humidity of Vietnam on your skin and imagine the seedy dance halls frequented by the novel’s main character. Set in the years preceding the Vietnam War, readers will be able to keenly sense the tension, unrest, and violence that led to the bloody conflict.
Africa
Feel like you don’t know enough about Africa? These books offer some beautiful prose as well as an education on aspects of African history and culture.
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There are few better books on Nigerian culture and the impact of colonialism on traditional ways of life than this amazing novel. If you find it compelling, follow it up with the sequel, No Longer at Ease.
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South African author Alan Paton writes about his home country in this novel, following a black Anglican priest as he searches for his son in Johannesburg. Readers will feel the racial tension that fills the pages, giving insights into the lives many led in the years before Apartheid ended.
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While the novel was written by Eggers, it tells the story of a real-life refugee, Valentino Achak Deng, as he fled the violent civil war in Sudan that took the lives of nearly everyone he cared for. It is heartbreaking to read but will give readers a better understanding of the history of Sudan and the cultures of the people who call it home.
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Egypt: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfuz
Mahfuz is one of the best-known and best-loved Egyptian writers, and the Nobel Prize winner doesn’t disappoint in this novel. Set in Cairo after WWI, the book documents the cultural and political shifts that were happening in Egypt at the time, highlighting their impact on the average Egyptian.
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Algeria: The Stranger by Albert Camus
In Camus’ short existentialist novel, one can almost feel the hot Algerian sun beating down on Meursault, leading him to irrationally kill a man who is following him in Algiers.
Central and South America
Some amazing literature has come out of these nations, so check it out before you travel, or even if you’re just staying at home!
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While it is filled with magical and sometimes surreal elements, this prize-winning novel is nonetheless an amazing way to travel through the history and landscape of Columbia, following seven generations of the Buendia family.
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Mexico: Terra Nostra by Carlos Fuentes
Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes builds a compelling history of Spain and South America, blending myth, religion, history, and fiction into one beautiful novel.
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Amado’s novel follows a woman on her unlikely path to happiness, also painting a beautiful panorama of everyday life in the town of Salvador.
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Allende is one of Chile’s most famous authors, and in this novel, the one that catapulted her to fame, she shows off her writing skills, drawing on both magical realism and events that happened in her life for inspiration.
Middle East
Get insights into life in the Middle East with the help of these great novels.
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Bringing up questions of morality, dignity, identity, and nationality, this great novel focuses on a beautiful young woman who is the victim of a suicide bombing. Though she is dead, the impact of her death on the few that knew her resonates throughout the beautiful and compelling novel.
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Middle East: Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif
If you want a primer on the political issues that have troubled the Middle East for the past century in a novelized form, this book offers a pretty good synopsis, also touching on a variety of cultural, political, and economic conflicts between Middle Eastern nations and America.
Caribbean
These books share both the good and the bad side of Caribbean history.
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Let’s be honest, most people are pretty ignorant when it comes to the history of the Dominican Republic, even in modern years. Those headed to the DR should do a little learning before leaving, and this novel is an excellent way to learn about the brutal dictatorship of Trujillo while reading a beautiful and tragic story about a young, somewhat geeky young man.
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Martinique: Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau
The Caribbean of today is largely a tropical getaway for tourists, but this novel will remind you of the brutal history many of these islands endured under French and Spanish rule. In Texaco, Chamoiseau traces over 150 years of post-slavery Caribbean history, masterfully showcasing Martinique through reimagined histories that cover everything from plantation life to shantytowns.
Other
If your travels take you to Russia or Australia, make sure to give one these great books a read.
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Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick White brings life in the Australian bush to life with this novel that details the struggles of the Parker family to stay afloat. Readers will find not only amazing descriptions of the Australian outback but also captivating renditions of Australian folklore and myth.
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Set in a cold Soviet labor camp during the 1950s, Solzhenitsyn’s novel describes a day in the life of an ordinary prisoner, revolutionary at the time because it openly depicted the oppression of the Stalinist regime. While Russia today is a far cry from this, it is excellent background reading for understanding the nation’s emergence from communist rule and long recovery from decades of dictatorship.
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