Fiction that Feels like Travelling (Part One)

As I started making this list I realized I had far too many places and far too many novels so this is part one of what will no doubt end up being a series. Enjoy visiting a few countries with some of my favourite reads and some incredible authors that can't help but take you overseas with their prose and with their stories.

The book that triggered this whole blogpost was one of my all time favourite novels (and movies!). 'Call Me By Your Name' transports me straight to a sun-soaked summer in Italy. The story takes place during one beautiful and intense summer in the Italian Riviera, and the writing is so incredibly evocative you cannot help but feel the European sun on your skin, and smell the fruit ripening in the orchards. 

Another classic that will take you straight to Naples is the Neopolitan Quartet by mysterious author Elena Ferrante. Starting with 'My Brilliant Friend', this book remains so popular because it's an incredibly immersive story about female friendships and identity, set against a neighbourhood in Naples that is undergoing it's own shifts and changes. It's the story of Elena and Lila, btu it's also the portrait of the vibrant city itself.

Lastly, an upcoming book you should add to your TBR if you feel like a much cheaper trip to Italy than flying there yourself is 'A Siena Love Story' by bestselling author Nicky Pellegrino. Coming out in September, this is the perfect read for escaping without having to work too hard. 

One of my favourite Japanese authors is Sayaka Murata, and one of her earlier novels 'Convenience Store Woman' feels like a unique trip to Tokyo through our main character Keiko, a 36 year old woman who works at a convenience store part time and is struggling with not fitting in to the traditional idea of what her life looks like. It's a strange and quiet novel but one that I adore for it's themes of living a life that is our own rather than one expected of us, and for it's microcosm of Tokyo that we are able to quietly slip in to.

Recently I wrote a whole blogpost about Japanese Healing Fiction, and any of these would be perfect for taking a wonderfully soothing trip to a small bookshop in Japan, or visiting a magical cafe that helps you travel through time. One of my favourites that I often recommend to people who are travelling to Japan is 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives', a short novel about a restaurant in Kyoto that tracks down the recipes from your past to recreate those magical meals that bring back specific memories. The food descriptions are next level and it's also a beautiful insight into Japanese culture.

Speaking of incredible food descriptions, I still remember reading 'Butter' by Asako Yuzuki and feeling like I had a small dish of rice with butter and soy sauce before me, the writing is so incredibly potent. A cult beststeller about a gourmet cook in Tokyo who is imprisoned for the serial murders of lonely businessmen, and the first journalist she lets in close enough to speak with her. It's a slow-paced and incredibly clever literary thriller that explores so many fascinating themes about culture and identity within Japan, and will take you straight there with its delicious writing.

For our last stop today, on our way back home, why not stop off in our friendly neighbour Australia? I couldn't write about Australia without mentioning one of my favourite authors of all time, Trent Dalton. His writing is so grounded in place and time that you can't read his novels without feeling like you've visited the city or the neighborhood his characters reside in. I have two favourites to introduce us to one of his favourite cities and his hometown, Brisbane. First up is a visit to the city and the big beast of Brisbane river that runs through it in 'Lola and the Mirror'. This book is set in the gritty West End of the city, in the scrapyards and community hubs along the river and I can't think of Lola without picturing her riverside (she may be one of my favourite characters of all time). Dalton's recent novel, 'Gravity Let Me Go', is another masterpiece with Brisbane a central character, except this time it's the fictional town of Jubilee that feels like a neighbourhood I know so well. Another magically written story about the people, the places, and the stories of our neighbourhoods. Pick up any of Dalton's writing and try not to be transported to Australia, I dare you.

'Billie King' is a brand new debut novel by Shannon Kelly-White and it sounds like the BEST time - the story of Australia's last female bushranger who is on a quest for revenge in 1918. A bold and brazen read, I've seen people describe this as Kill Bill but set in the Australian Bush (sold), and our reviewer, Sara, who read an early copy said that it was a 5 star read for her about "gutsy and spirited female characters who refuse to give up in a male dominated world, and will stop at nothing to find the answers they seek".

I just finished reading 'Tell Me Something True' by Australian author Michael Robotham, and I absolutely found myself completely obsessed with thinking about this small Australian goldrush town and its inhabitants (and its secrets!). It's a coming-of-age story and a mystery about a family tragedy and the ones who took the sentence for it. I couldn't put it down until I had all the answers, but it also felt so much like a real place full of real people that it's hard to remember it's fictional.