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?

46 Items found Print

Active Filters:

20th & 21st Century Literature,

Fantasy Fiction,

Trade Paperback

	Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.99
	Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkien UK Edition from HarperCollins Fantasy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Complete Tolkien Companion by J.R.R. Tolkien & J.E.A. Tyler 3^rd edition from St. Martin's Griffin Lord of the Rings Reference for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Complete Tolkien Companion by J.R.R. Tolkien & J.E.A. Tyler 3^rd edition from St. Martin's Griffin Lord of the Rings Reference for 8th-Adult in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR) $27.00
	Dark Tower and Other Stories by C. S. Lewis Reissue from HarperOne for 11th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Enchantment by Orson Scott Card 1^st edition from Del Rey for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.00
	Endless Knot Song of Albion #3 by Stephen R. Lawhead 2^nd edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers Celtic Fantasy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $12.00
	Fellowship of the Ring Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1 by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Finale by Calvin Miller from InterVarsity Press for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	George MacDonald An Anthology by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Devotional Material for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $13.99
	George MacDonald An Anthology by C. S. Lewis from Touchstone Devotional Material for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	George MacDonald: 365 Readings by C. S. Lewis, selections from George MacDonald from Collier Books Devotional Material for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.99
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.99
	Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Softbound Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 4th-12th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $72.00
	If The South Had Won The Civil War by MacKinlay Kantor from Forge for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $15.99
	Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke from Bloomsbury Publishing for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $19.99
	Letters to Children by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.99
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $11.99
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Scholastic Inc. Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	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)
	Lost in a Good Book Thursday Next Book 2 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.00
	Monster Calls Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay Reprint from Candlewick Press for 5th-Adult 2012 Carnegie Medal in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $12.00
	Monster Calls Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness from Candlewick Press for 5th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	One of Our Thursdays Is Missing Thursday Next Book 6 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Out of the Silent Planet Space Trilogy Book 1 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Perelandra Space Trilogy Book 2 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.99
	Return of the King Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3 by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Return of the King Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3 by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-12th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Saga of Eric Brighteyes Tolkien's Bookshelf: Volume 6 by H. Rider Haggard 1^st edition from Leaves of Gold Press for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $29.95
	Saga of Eric Brighteyes by H. Rider Haggard 1^st edition from Newcastle Publishing Co for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Second Book of the Dun Cow: Lamentations by Walter Wangerin from Diversion Publications for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.99
	Singer by Calvin Miller from InterVarsity Press Allegorical Fantasy for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator) from Mariner Books Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED) $18.99
	Something Rotten Thursday Next Book 4 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $22.00
	Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury from Simon and Schuster for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Song by Calvin Miller from InterVarsity Press for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $1.50 (1 in stock)
	That Hideous Strength Space Trilogy Book 3 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Fantasy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Third Book of the Dun Cow Peace at the Last by Walter Wangerin from Diversion Publications for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Thursday Next: First Among Sequels Thursday Next Book 5 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $22.00
	Two Towers Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2 by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Two Towers Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2 by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Watership Down by Richard Adams from Charles Scribner's Sons Animal Fiction for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $19.99
	Well of Lost Plots Thursday Next Book 3 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $22.00
	Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison from Dover Publications for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.95

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Connect