For Iceland, I'd recommend one of the Reykjavík Murder Mysteries by Arnaldur Indriðason, or, if you want an actual classic (TM), The Atom Station or Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness.
I hear good things about The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna from Finland. (I'm assuming you're looking for actual novels, or I'd just rec the Kalevala and be done. ;))
For Iran, Persepolis by Mariane Satrapi is a graphic novel, but still worth considering?
The Don Camillo novels by Giovannino Guareschi are a light-hearted-with-serious-undertones look at rural Italy after WWII.
For Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf's The Miracles of Antichrist or The Ring of the Lövenskolds -- yes, this is the same author who wrote the Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson, but she also wrote adult stuff.
Personally, I found Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red very hard to read, but if you're into a high-brow postmodern take on historical fiction, you might like it. (Many people did.) If not, Snow or The Red-haired Woman might be more enjoyable. Pamuk is Turkey's first Noble Prize laureate.
Rather than Golding, how about Yasunari Kawabata (e.g. Snow Country) or Haruki Murakami (e.g. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, The Wind-up Bird Chronicles or 1Q84) for Japan?
For Andorra, Andorra by Max Frisch is a classic.
For Jamaica and Dominica, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys?
Strictly speaking, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is set in Poland. :P According to Grundy, it's also tripe, but I haven't read it, so I'd be interested in your opinion!
I'll probably think of more later, but for now, this must be enough!
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I hear good things about The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna from Finland. (I'm assuming you're looking for actual novels, or I'd just rec the Kalevala and be done. ;))
For Iran, Persepolis by Mariane Satrapi is a graphic novel, but still worth considering?
The Don Camillo novels by Giovannino Guareschi are a light-hearted-with-serious-undertones look at rural Italy after WWII.
For Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf's The Miracles of Antichrist or The Ring of the Lövenskolds -- yes, this is the same author who wrote the Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson, but she also wrote adult stuff.
Personally, I found Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red very hard to read, but if you're into a high-brow postmodern take on historical fiction, you might like it. (Many people did.) If not, Snow or The Red-haired Woman might be more enjoyable. Pamuk is Turkey's first Noble Prize laureate.
Rather than Golding, how about Yasunari Kawabata (e.g. Snow Country) or Haruki Murakami (e.g. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, The Wind-up Bird Chronicles or 1Q84) for Japan?
For Andorra, Andorra by Max Frisch is a classic.
For Jamaica and Dominica, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys?
Strictly speaking, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is set in Poland. :P According to Grundy, it's also tripe, but I haven't read it, so I'd be interested in your opinion!
I'll probably think of more later, but for now, this must be enough!