The best books that capture the unusual charm of other countries

A Theatre for Dreamers captures the halcyon days of the 60s artistic community on the Greek Island of Hydra. It focuses on the international bohemian set, including the authors Charmian Clift and George Johnston. Among the artists, poets and hangers-on are a Norwegian couple—Axel Jensen and Marianne Ihlen—and a young, charismatic Canadian by the name of Leonard Cohen. It is narrated by the likable ingenue Erica, a novitiate novelist in her late teens whose mother’s dying wish was for her daughter to go off on an adventure. Erica is like Nick Carraway, mainly on the periphery of events, observing and learning from the more experienced, glamorous people she has fallen in with. Interesting fact: author, Polly Samson, is married to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Elizabeth Spencer was an American writer who loved Italy and once lived there. This collection in one volume contains Spencer's six Italian tales.

In “The Light in the Piazza” a wealthy American woman and her beautiful but mentally disabled daughter meet a young Italian man in Florence who will have a profound impact on their lives.

In “Knights and Dragons” an American woman in Rome and Venice struggles for release from her husband's disturbing control over her. In “The Cousins,” “The Pincian Gate,” “The White Azalea,” and “The Visit,” Spencer shows the unique craft that has earned her acclaim as one of America's top writers of short stories.

Elizabeth Spencer died in 2019 at the age of 98. Interesting fact: She was a cousin of United States senator John McCain.

Set in Haiti under the rule of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his secret police, the Tontons Macoutes, this novel explores political repression and terrorism through the figure Mr. Brown. Brown, a British ne’er-do-well who has inherited a failing hotel near the capital, Port-au-Prince, narrates.

The Comedians is a novel of character. Each of the leading characters reveals an unforeseen facet of personality: a naive fool who was once a candidate for U.S. president proves to be compassionate and courageous; a lying, cowardly gunrunner dies a hero; and a former Freedom Rider rises above her simple liberalism to unwittingly save Brown’s life.

I loved the cast of characters and was fascinated by the brutal regime of Haiti in the mid-60s. Like witnessing an accident, it’s hard to look away.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully written scene after another, A Gentleman in Moscow is the story of handsome Count Alexander Rostov, who, after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, is sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in Moscow’s Metropol Hotel. The Count must adjust not only to a small room in the hotel’s belfry, but also to the knowledge that his way of life is disappearing.

Count Rostov has “opted for the life of the purposefully unrushed.” He was raised to appreciate the conveniences of life, such as keeping “a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another.” When asked by the Bolsheviks to state his occupation, he replies, “It is not the business of a gentleman to have occupations.” Charming!!

Interesting fact, this is set to be made into a movie starring fabulous Scottish actor Ewan McGregor!

In the Garden of Beasts follows the story of William E. Dodd, who was sent to Hitler’s Nazi Germany in 1933 as an American ambassador.

The Dodds move into a mansion across the street from Berlin’s public park called the “Tiergarten,” which means “the garden of beasts.” The mansion’s owner, a Jewish banker who lives upstairs, hopes that the American ambassador’s presence will dissuade authorities from breaking in and arresting him.

Along with his family, Dodd experiences the glamour and romance of Germany—until he becomes disturbingly aware of the Third Reich’s oppressive practices and terrifying plans.

It’s fascinating and horrifying to see Germany of 1933 through the eyes of this uniquely well-positioned American family (which included Dodd’s 24-year-old daughter, an adventurous young woman who joins Berlin’s social whirl).