Literature by Place - Exodus Books

Store Location

It's kind of crazy to what extent geography can inform an author's work. Jack London spent most of his life at sea, dog-sledding across Alaska, boxing and generally being an adventurous guy who would put today's REI crowd to shame. Would he have penned some of the greatest American novels otherwise? especially ones concerned primarily with man battling the elements for survival in both a mental and physical sense? Very probably not, which explains why Oscar Wilde didn't write about wolves and crazy ship captains.

No, Oscar Wilde wrote primarily about fops and society people parrying witticisms incessantly. That's not to say his work has no place in a serious consideration of literature—au contraire, The Picture of Dorian Grey is one of the finest novels written in English. It's just more evidence that if you're an author who lives in the Canadian mountains or the clubs of London, your writing will reflect that.

Physical terrain isn't the only consideration. Sartre wrote about people lolling about with no real sense of purpose except to drink wine and smoke cigarettes and look languorous because he lived in France in the 1940s. Friedrich Nietzsche had immense mustaches and espoused a form of nihilism because he was German. The Russians wrote impossibly long novels because they lived in Russia. And Chinua Achebe was almost entirely influenced by his African upbringing.

That's not to say no one can write well about a context they haven't experienced firsthand. I'm pretty sure Robert Heinlein never visited Mars, and even if he did it wasn't as his books describe; the same goes for Bradbury. And no, Roald Dahl was never lost in a delightfully (though at times, terrifyingly) absurd chocolate factory. Yet even with these examples, the authors conveyed essentially the attitudes of the countries they came from—Heinlein and Bradbury from the U.S., Dahl from the U.K.

Our Literature by Place subcategories are admittedly Anglo-centric. North American literature features, well, American literature, and you can be pretty sure British literature reflects the same system; everything else goes in world literature. We have plenty of non-American or -British literature, we just don't have much from any one place besides those two. At any rate, we hope these categories are helpful, and if they guide you toward one book you're looking for (or maybe one you didn't even know existed), they've done their job.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

Did you find this review helpful?

40 Items found Print

Active Filters:

4th grade (Ages 9-10),

Used Books & Materials

	America America America Prose and Poetry about the Land, the People, and the Promise by Kenneth Seeman Giniger (Editor), Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher from Franklin Watts for 3rd-Adult in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen from Barnes & Noble for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Andersen's Fairy Tales Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk from Grosset & Dunlap Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Andersen's Fairy Tales Windermere Readers #8 by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter 1954 Edition from Rand McNally for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Bag of Moonshine by Alan Garner, illustrated by P. J. Lynch from Delacorte Press for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany from Macmillan Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $40.00 (1 in stock)
	Children of the Northlights by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire 1962 Reprint from Viking Press for Preschool-4th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $28.00 (1 in stock)
	Children's Stories from Dickens by Charles Dickens, Mary Angela Dickens from Gramercy Books for 3rd-7th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	East of the Sun and West of the Moon by László Gál from Firefly Books for 1st-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	East of the Sun and West of the Moon by P. C. Asbjornsen & Jorgen E. Moe, illustrated by Tom Vroman from Macmillan for 1st-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $16.00 (1 in stock)
	Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Edited by Signe Toksvig, Illustrated by George and Doris Hauman from Macmillan for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $25.00 (1 in stock)
	Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Jirí Trnka 1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Favourite Tales from Hans Christen Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Anastasiya Archipova from Floris Books for 4th-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Gift of the Magi & Other Short Stories Dover Thrift Editions by O. Henry from Dover Publications for 4th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 $2.00 (7 in stock)
	Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, illustrated by Kevin King from Simon and Schuster for 4th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan from HarperCollins for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor and the Whirlwind Jungle Doctor #1 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor in Slippery Places Jungle Doctor #6 by Paul White Reprint from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor on the Hop Jungle Doctor #2 by Paul White Reprint from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor Spots a Leopard Jungle Doctor #3 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor's Crooked Dealings Jungle Doctor #4 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor's Enemies Jungle Doctor #5 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling from Crescent Books for 1st-6th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Kaleidoscope of Fairies & Fables by Hans Andersen, Aesop, Kipling & the Brothers Grimm, retold by Robert Mathias from Hamlyn for Kindergarten-4th grade in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent from Little, Brown & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $11.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harcourt Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Mio My Son by Astrid Lindgren, translated by Marianne Turner and illustrated by Ilon Wikland from Puffin Books for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen; retold by Stephen Mitchell and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline from Candlewick Press for 2nd-6th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Odin's Family Myths of the Vikings by Neil Philip, illustrated by Maryclare Foa from Orchard Books for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Pippi Goes on Board Pippi Longstocking #2 by Astrid Lindgren from Viking Press Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from J.B. Lippincott Co. Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from J.B. Lippincott Co. Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Seven Tales by H. C. Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Eva Le Gallienne and illustrated by Maurice Sendak from Harper & Row for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Seven Tales by H. C. Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Eva Le Gallienne and illustrated by Maurice Sendak from Harper & Row for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka & The White Duck by Irina Zheleznova (translator) from Goznak for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Tale of Two Cities (adapted) - Audiobook by Jim Weiss from Peace Hill Press for 3rd-8th grade in Greathall Storyteller CDs (Location: CD-WEISS) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.50 (1 in stock)

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Connect