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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7th grade (Ages 12-13),

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	Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle from Penguin Classics for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $14.00
	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain Library by Mark Twain, illustrated by E.W. Kemble and John Harley, edited by Victor Fischer, Lin Salamo with Harriet Elinor Smith and Walter Blair from University of California Press Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $13.00 (1 in stock)
	Animal Farm by George Orwell from Plume Books Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 6th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.00
	Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator) from Bantam Books for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Beowulf by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson from Canon Press for 7th-Adult in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED) $14.00
	Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole from Anchor Books for 7th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Reader's Edition) by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer from Rocky Pond Books for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.99
	C. S. Lewis: The Ultimate Collection by C. S. Lewis for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $613.84
	Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers from WaterBrook Press for 5th-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum from Aladdin Paperbacks Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $10.99
	Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Boxed Set by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $90.93
	Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Set by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
	Comet in Moominland Moomintrolls Book #1 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Complete Fairy Tales Penguin Classics by George MacDonald from Penguin Classics Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $17.00
	Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm 3^rd edition from Bantam Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $24.00
	Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson from Little, Brown & Company for 7th-Adult in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN) $23.99
	Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey 1^st edition from Touchstone for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.00
	Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville, foreword by Mitali Perkins Reprint from Harper Perennial for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $16.99
	Falcons of France by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall from Little, Brown & Company for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Finn Family Moomintroll Moomintrolls Book #2 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	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) $15.00
	Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift from Dover Publications for 7th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18) $6.00
	Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen from Penguin Classics for 5th-10th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Translated by Erik Christian Haugaard 1983 Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books for 2nd-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $25.00
	Henry V Oxford School Shakespeare by William Shakespeare & Roma Gill, editor from Oxford University Historical Drama for 7th-10th grade in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $13.99
	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) $17.99
	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
	Homes in the Wilderness A Pilgrim's Journal of Plymouth Plantation in 1620 by William Bradford from Purple House Press for 4th-8th grade in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL) $9.99
	Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle from Dover Publications for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $4.00
	Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli from Macmillan for 6th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Julius Caesar Oxford School Shakespeare by William Shakespeare & Roma Gill, editor from Oxford University Historical Tragedy for 7th-10th grade in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN) $9.95
	King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 125th anniversary edition from Great Light Publications for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Leave it to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse from W. W. Norton and Co. Humor for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $14.95
	Letters to Children by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.00
	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 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)
	Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot from St. Martin's Press for 7th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $17.99
	Lorna Doone (adapted) by R. D. Blackmore, adapted by Jordan, Berglund & Washburne, illustrated by Alexander Key Reprint from Scott, Foresman & Co. for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Macbeth Oxford School Shakespeare by William Shakespeare & Roma Gill, editor from Oxford University Historical Tragedy for 7th-10th grade in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN) $9.95
	Midsummer Night's Dream Oxford School Shakespeare by William Shakespeare & Roma Gill, editor from Oxford University Comedy for 7th-10th grade in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN) $9.95
	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)
	Moominland Midwinter Moomintrolls Book #5 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Moominpappa at Sea Moomintrolls Book #7 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Moominpappa's Memoirs Moomintrolls Book #3 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $5.56
	Moominpappa's Memoirs Moomintrolls Book #3 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99
	Moominsummer Madness Moomintrolls Book #4 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Moominvalley in November Moomintrolls Book #8 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Mythology by Edith Hamilton from Little, Brown & Company Mythology for 7th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $17.99
	Myths of the Norsemen From the Eddas and Sagas by H.A. Guerber from Dover Publications for 6th-10th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Nobody's Boy by Hector Malot, translated by Florence Crewe Jones, illustrated by Thelma Gooch and Johnny Gruelle from Inheritance Publications for 6th-9th grade in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03) $14.95
	Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library from Pantheon Books for 7th-10th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens from Oxford University Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $6.95
	Penrod by Booth Tarkington from Penguin Classics Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Roberts from Down East Books for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.95
	Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne from Bob Jones University Press Mystery/Suspense for 7th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.99
	Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner from Akasha Classics for 4th-7th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.99
	Tale of the Cid: and Other Stories of Knights and Chivalry by Andrew Lang from Dover Publications for 6th-Adult in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.95
	Tales from Moominvalley Moomintrolls Book #6 by Tove Jansson Reprint from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	The Moomins Set by Tove Jansson from Square Fish Publishing for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Thurber Carnival by James Thurber from Harper Perennial for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.99
	Twelfth Night for Kids Shakespeare Can Be Fun by Christine Coburn, Lois Burdett from Firefly Books for 5th-8th grade in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
	Walkabout by James Marshall reprint from Puffin Books for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Walkabout by James Marshall from New York Review of Books for 7th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $12.99
	Westminster Confession of Faith by Westminster Assembly from Free Presbyterian Publications for 7th-Adult in Creeds, Confessions & Catechisms (Location: XTH-CREED)
	Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, edited by Joseph Pearce from Ignatius Press for 7th-9th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings from Charles Scribner's Sons Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $19.99
	Yearling with Reading Group Guide by Marjorie Rawlings from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)

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