Literature by Place - Exodus Books

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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.

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	Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald from Vintage Classics Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Aeneid Penguin Classics by Virgil, translated by David West Reissue from Penguin Classics for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Stanley F. Lombardo from Hackett Publishing Company for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $15.00
	Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Shadi Bartsch from Modern Library for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.00
	Aeneid Penguin Classics by Virgil, translated by Sarah Ruden Reissue from Yale University Press for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.00
	Aeschylus II: The Oresteia The Complete Greek Tragedies by Aeschylus (translation by Richmond Lattimore) 3^rd edition from University of Chicago Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Aeschylus' Oresteia Penguin Classics by Aeschylus (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Classics Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Aeschylus' Oresteia by Aeschylus, translated by Peter Meineck from Hackett Publishing Company Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $13.50
	Aeschylus' Oresteian Trilogy Penguin Classics by Aeschylus, translated by Phillip Vellacott from Penguin Classics Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $13.00 $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Aesop's Fables by Aesop from Signet Classics Fairy Tales & Fables for 10th grade-adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.95
	Annals of Imperial Rome Penguin Classics by Tacitus from Penguin Classics Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.00
	Art of War by Sun Tzu Later Printing from Dover Publications for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.95
	Bacchae and Other Plays Penguin Classics by Euripides (translation by John Davies) from Penguin Classics Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $12.00
	Bacchae and Other Plays Penguin Classics by Euripides (translation by Phillip Vellacott) from Penguin Classics Ancient Tragedy for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $13.00
	Basic Works of Aristotle by Aristotle from Modern Library for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $25.00
	Bhagavad Gita by Anonymous Modern Reprint from Oxford University for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $8.95
	Civil War Together with The Alexandrian War, The African War, and The Spanish War by other Hands Penguin Classics by Julius Caesar from Penguin Classics Primary Source Documents for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Complete Fables of Aesop Penguin Classics by Aesop from Penguin Classics Fables for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Conquest of Gaul Penguin Classics by Julius Caesar from Penguin Classics Primary Source Documents for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $12.00
	Early Christian Writings by Various, Thomas Wyatt Revised from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Early History of Rome by Livy from Penguin Classics Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Epic of Gilgamesh Penguin Classics by Anonymous (translation by Andrew George) from Penguin Classics Ancient Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Epic of Gilgamesh Penguin Classics by Anonymous (translation by N. K. Sandars) from Penguin Classics Ancient Poetic Epic for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Euclid's Elements by Euclid & Sir Thomas Heath (translator) 2^nd edition from Green Lion Press for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $29.95
	Euripides I by Euripides from University of Chicago for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $12.00
	Euripides: The Trojan Women and Hippolytus by Euripides from Dover Publications for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $2.50
	Fall of the Roman Republic Six Lives by Plutarch, translated by Rex Warner, introduction and notes by Robin Seager Revised from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.00
	Four Plays by Aristophanes The Clouds; The Birds; Lysistrata; The Frogs by Aristophanes from Meridian Book for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Gilgamesh A New Rendering in English Verse by Anonymous (translation by David Ferry) from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Ancient Poetic Epic for 7th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Anonymous (translation by Stephen Mitchell) 1^st edition from Free Press for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Gorgias Penguin Classics by Plato from Penguin Classics Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $10.00
	Gorgias Oxford World's Classics by Plato from Oxford University Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $8.95 $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Great Dialogues of Plato Signet Classics by Plato from Signet Classics Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $6.95
	Greek Lives by Plutarch, translated by Robin Waterfield 1st Reissue from Oxford University Biography for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $13.95
	Histories Penguin Classics by Herodotus (translation by Aubrey De Sélincourt) from Penguin Classics Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $13.00
	Histories Penguin Classics by Herodotus (translation by Robin Waterfield) from Oxford University Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Histories Penguin Classics by Herodotus (translation by David Grene) from University of Chicago Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	History of the Church by Eusebius Revised from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $20.00
	Iliad Everyman's Library by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald) from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $23.00
	Iliad by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $20.00
	Iliad by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald) from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Ancient Literature for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Iliad by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Putnam for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.00
	Iliad by Homer (translation by Caroline Alexander) from Ecco Press for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.99
	Iliad Signet Classics by Homer (translation by W.H.D. Rouse), Afterword by Adam Nicolson from Signet Classics Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $7.95
	Iliad of Homer by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore) from University of Chicago Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $15.00
	Iliad: A Prose Rendering by Homer, translated by Wes Callihan from Roman Roads Media for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $27.99
	Josephus: New Complete Works by Flavius Josephus from Kregel Publications for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $34.99
	Josephus: New Complete Works by Flavius Josephus from Kregel Publications for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $24.99
	Josephus: The Essential Works by Flavius Josephus Revised from Kregel Publications for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $31.99
	Josephus: The Essential Writings by Flavius Josephus, translated by Paul L. Maier from Kregel Publications for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $21.99
	Landmark Herodotus The Histories by Herodotus (translated by Andrea Purvis & edited by Robert Strassler) from Random House for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $30.00
	Landmark Thucydides A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides from Simon and Schuster Historical Non-Fiction for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $32.00
	Last Days of Socrates Penguin Classics by Plato from Penguin Classics Ancient Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Lysistrata and Other Plays by Aristophanes from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $12.00
	Medea and Other Plays by Euripides from Penguin Putnam Drama for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $11.00
	Meditations by Marcus Aurelius from Modern Library Classic Literature for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $11.00
	Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Charles Martin from W. W. Norton and Co. for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.95
	Metamorphoses by Ovid Reprint from Signet Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $7.95
	Mythology by Edith Hamilton from Little, Brown & Company Mythology for 7th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.99
	Mythology Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton from Black Dog & Leventhal Mythology for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $29.99
	New Testament by Richmond Lattimore from North Point Press for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $25.00
	Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Political Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $6.00
	Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle from University of Chicago Ancient Greek Political Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $15.00
	Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle from Hackett Publishing Company Ancient Greek Political Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $21.00
	Odyssey by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald) from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.00
	Odyssey by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Putnam for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $20.00
	Odyssey Signet Classics by Homer, prose translation by W.H.D. Rouse from Signet Classics Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.95
	Odyssey by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Putnam for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Odyssey of Homer by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore) from HarperCollins Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.99
	Odyssey: A Prose Rendering by Homer, translated by Wes Callihan from Roman Roads Media for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $27.99
	On Christian Teaching by St. Augustine from Oxford University for 10th-Adult in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED) $12.95
	On the Nature of Things by Lucretius from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	On the Nature of Things by Lucretius from Veritas Press for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.00
	Oresteia Trilogy Agamemnon, The Libation-Bearers and The Furies Dover Thrift Editions by Aeschylus from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Tragedy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.00
	Persian Expedition by Xenophon Revised from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Plutarch's Lives Volume I by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden from Modern Library Biography for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.00
	Plutarch's Lives Volume I by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden from Modern Library Biography for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $20.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Plutarch's Lives Volume II by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden from Modern Library Biography for 11th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $20.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Poetics by Aristotle from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Philosophy of the Arts for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $4.50
	Politics A Treatise on Government by Aristotle from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Political Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $7.00
	Prometheus Bound Dover Thrift Editions by Aeschylus from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Tragedy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $4.00
	Republic Dover Thrift Editions by Plato from Dover Publications Ancient Philosophy/Utopian Literature for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.00
	Republic Of Plato by Plato, translated by Alan Bloom 2^nd edition from Basic Books for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $22.99
	Rhetoric by Aristotle from Dover Publications Ancient Greek Philosophy for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $8.00
	Rise and Fall of Athens Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Roman Lives A Selection of Eight Roman Lives by Plutarch, translated by Robin Waterfield Reissue from Oxford University Biography for 9th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Selected Works of Cicero Penguin Classics by Cicero from Penguin Classics Ancient Roman Philosophy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.00
	Theban Plays Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, excerpts from then translation by Sir George Young from Dover Publications for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $5.00
	Theogony and Works & Days by Hesiod from Oxford University for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $11.95
	Theogony and Works & Days by Hesiod & Theognis, translated by Dorothea Wender from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $14.00
	Thirteen Books of the Elements Volume I by Euclid & Sir Thomas Heath (translator) 2^nd edition from Dover Publications for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $18.95
	Three Theban Plays Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles (translation by Robert Fagles) from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	Trial and Death of Socrates Four Dialogues Dover Thrift Editions by Plato from Dover Publications Ancient Philosophy for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $4.00 $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Twelve Caesars Penguin Classics by Suetonius from Penguin Classics History for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00
	War with Hannibal by Titus Livius Livy from Penguin Classics Animal Stories: Realistic for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $19.00

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