I’m back with another entry for  Top Ten Tuesday a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is: Places in Books I’d love to Live. I love to travel and since there’s been none of that due to COVID-19, I knew I had to participate in this week’s edition and look back at the books I’ve read and places I have visited over time.

First stop would be La Perdida by Jessica Abel. In this graphic novel, we get to see the amazing Mexico City. I love the culture, the food and just like Carla in the novel, I remember a wonderful visit to Frida Kahlo’s house. I’ve been to Mexico City three times and would love to go again.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This wonderful story is set in Barcelona, Spain. This vibrant city holds a special place in my heart because it was the first city in Europe I visited. It’s where I learned to love red wine, discovered that I really enjoy the works of Pablo Picasso and in general it set me up for my desire to travel overseas.

From there we’ll go to Persuasion by Jane Austen because of its Bath, England setting. Can you imagine being able to visit the Pump Room to have afternoon tea while reading this or any other Jane Austen book. Ah, what a delight.

Now we’ll move over a bit to Sixpence House by Paul Collins. This book is set in Hay-on-Wye and I’ve had the opportunity to be there but would wouldn’t it be great to be there for the Hay Literary festival? Although how would I ever move all the books I bought to my next location?

Next would be The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olson. A series set in Copenhagen, Denmark. Granted before we would move I’d have to really work on my cycling skills. They have a bicycle super highway which I know my husband loved but I admit it was a bit intimidating.

Then we’d move on to Tulip Fever by Deborah Moogach because it is set in Amsterdam, Netherlands. More bikes, tulips and so many other great cities nearby. One thing I can’t believe I still haven’t done on my trips to Amsterdam is visit the Van Gogh Museum. Next time for sure.

After our stay there we’d move to The Square of Revenge by Pieter Aspe for its location in Bruges, Belgium. There are some great antique and thrift shops and flea markets. I still remember a little shop I found which was packed with all kinds of vintage goods. I got some great vintage postcards. Plus, chocolate!

Now for some warmer weather and lots of sun I’d move over to A Room with a View by E.M. Forster as much of it takes place in Florence, Italy. I’d be eating gelato every day and enjoying a cappuccinos every morning while I watched the views. Then of course I’d go take some bookbinding workshops at this historical shop.

We’d probably make it back over to Bachelor Brothers Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson in Vancouver, Canada. Can you imagine living in a B&B with all those books available? How fun but even better being surrounded by the beautiful scenery of British Columbia.

Finally, Bremen Town Musicians by the Brothers Grimm. How can I not include Germany in this list right? Honestly so many places I could choose from in Germany but for today I’ll go with Bremen as it’s situated near Hamburg and Hannover where we have friends and family. Bremen is a lovely town and on the Fairy Tale road so nearby are other charming towns which were the settings for many of the Grimms’ tales.

Sorry if this was a super long post but thank you for coming along with me to some wonderful places I’ve visited. I wouldn’t mind living in any of them at least for a little while.

In case it’s not clear the pictures I’ve shared are from Denmark, Belgium and Germany. I wish I could have shown you more but I just didn’t have time to sort through the photo files.

Anyway, tell me about which placed you’d love to live in and why.

“Tell us about the room. Which part was blue? The walls were blue. A deep, cold blue. The room was Japanese-style, with tatami mats. Very small and compact. It was an unusual design, I think – two walls faced the corridor. Parts of it were a reddish-purple colour too. I remember thinking I would hate it to be my room and have to eat meals surrounded by those walls.”

The Aosawa Murders
By Riku Onda; translated by Alison Watts
Source: Advance review copy

The Aosawa’s, a prominent family, were celebrating two birthdays that long ago summer day. Everyone nearby had been invited and the guests have been enjoying the festivities. Why even a special delivery of rice wine and soft drinks have been delivered and are passed out to the guests to enjoy. Suddenly the celebration turns to tragedy when all the guests start to fall and writhe in pain. In the end 17 guests have died and only one member of the family has survived, Hisako.

Hisako is an ethereal young lady. She’s blind but acts like she’s never lost her sight and she’s the only family member who did not take a drink and thus survived. And so questions are raised about her knowledge or perhaps even involvement but thanks to a confession and suicide by a local man the case is quickly drawn to a close.

However, one of the neighborhood children who knew Hisako decides to write a story about the events and her novel, “The Forgotten Festival,” becomes a bestseller. This again sparks more questions about Hisako and her family.

If you are expecting a linear novel and a mystery all neat and tied up in the end, walk away. But if you are willing to go back and forth in time and read this book as if you were reading the case files from the murders and different points of view, then I highly recommend it. Yes, it was a little bit confusing at times but definitely worth it.

Isn’t the cover striking? I believe this is the author’s first book to be translated in English. It also won a the Mystery Writers of Japan Best Novel in 2006. She’s written several other books and I hope they will also be translated so we can get a chance to read them.

**This counts for the Japanese Literature Challenge, Books in Translation and Mount TBR Reading Challenges