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The Real-Life Settings of 9 Famous Novels

Travel the world without leaving your kindle

With summer vacation right around the corner, you're probably thinking of books that properly suit the places you're going. (We forbid you from reading a Scandinavian thriller on a tropical beach). Here, 9 ideas to get you started.

"the Shadow Of The Wind" By Carlos Ruis Zafron: Barcelona, Spain

This gripping novel about a young bookworm  takes place in the serpentine streets of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter.

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"disgrace" By J.m Cotzee: Cape Town, South Africa

Winner of the Booker Prize, this J.M Cotzee’s novel set in Cape Town paints an eye-opening picture of race relations and social order in Post-Apartheid South Africa.

"state Of Wonder" By Anne Patchett: Amazon, Brazil

Follow Dr. Marina Singh on a research assignment that sends her into to the Heart of Darkness: an isolated outpost in the Brazilian Amazon. Think, rivers crawling with snakes, dense jungles and creepy-crawly insects of every shape and size.

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"the God Of Small Things" By Arundhati Roy: Rural India

Roy’s breakout novel is set in the South Indian, rural village of Aymanam in the years when a firm caste system and steadfast Hindu traditions ruled Indian society.

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"the Kite Runner" By Khaleed Hosseini: Kabul, Afghanistan

Let Hosseini be your tour guide through Kabul, a city which was once wealthy, Western-leaning and cosmopolitan before the days of Taliban rule.

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"wuthering Heights" By Emily Bronte: Yorkshire, England

Two words: The Moors.

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1000 Lonely Places

"to The Lighthouse" By Virginia Woolf: Skye, Scotland

This picturesque Isle is the setting of Woolf’s classic stream-of-consciousness novel. Idyllic seaside cottages and jutting cliffs galore.

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"let The Great World Spin" By Colum Mccann- New York, Ny

1970’s New York is the star of this wildly inventive novel about the real French acrobat who walked on a wire suspended between the Twin Towers.

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"ulysses" By James Joyce- Dublin, Ireland

800 pages of mildly comprehensible Dublin, Baby. (Cliff’s notes are acceptable.)


jillian quint

Editor-in-Chief, Avid Reader, Wallpaper Enthusiast

Jillian Quint is the Editor-in-Chief of PureWow, where she oversees the editorial staff and all the fabulous content you read every day. Jillian began her career as a book editor...