I am having a seriously good year of reading. There have been a lot of great releases of late but I am also getting better at realising who to take recommendations from, the people who read the books that I have loved.
So, for the record, I like books about people and their lives; the relationships and inevitable twists and turns that can occur along different journeys. I love most things by Elizabeth Strout and David Nicholls. My favourite books of all time include The Heart’s Invisible Furies, One Day and Where’d You Go, Bernadette. And some of my favourite books of the last few years have been The Wedding People, Hello Beautiful and Tom Lake.
So if this too sounds like your kind of thing then maybe you will like some of my recommendations below. If not, then feel free to leave this one.
I’ve also read a few non-fictions this year, but today I’m focussing on the stories. The lives and adventures that you can get engrossed in with your feet up on a Summer’s eve.
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
I started January with a book I’d received as a Christmas gift, and it made those endless dark nights and mornings much more bearable. Scrap that, it made me LOVE those dark nights and mornings! I would wake up hours before it was light, and I could reasonably take my dog for a walk, to get a cup of tea and get back into bed to read a chapter or two before the day started. The story is set in the English countryside of Dorset and spans the 1950s and 1960s. It opens in the aftermath of a fatal shooting on Beth and Frank’s farm laying the foundations for a mystery to unfurl. The story travels back to Beth’s youth when she first meets and falls in love with Gabriel Wolfe, a boy from the wealthiest family in the local village. The plot maps the journey of Beth’s life following the end of this first romance, exploring themes of class, grief and regret, and questions whether we can rekindle past loves and lives. It’s a real page turner and may keep you up past bedtime as you race to see what happens next.
And then began my Lily King phase. I’ll admit this book didn’t have me from the first page and I missed the ease of picking up a book like Broken Country and being pulled straight into the narrative. The story starts out with a bit of a love triangle at University and it all seemed a bit juvenile and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get on with it. However, as the narrator’s relationship with Yash develops and their lives unfold, I became gripped. A crisis reunites the characters later in life and forces the narrator to look back on her first love and consider what actually happened and what might have been. I felt like I was holding my breath for the last section of this book. The story explores the intensity of young love and the lasting impact it can have on our lives. I loved it so much I went straight on to read…
Writers And Lovers by Lily King
I’m not going to give too much away here as this book is linked to Heart The Lover, and if I had been advised I would have read this book before Heart The Lover. Nonetheless, you can totally read it after and completely separately. The main character in this book is in her early 30s, struggling to finish her first novel, dealing with grief and trying to decide between two love interests. Sounds rather simple, and it is. Though it explores feelings and worries that many of us experience as we transition into adulthood, whenever that may be, like being left behind by our peer group, struggles with money and finding our own way in life. The end of the book is, nevertheless, uplifting and hopeful.
The Evening Of The Holiday by Shirley Hazzard
My Lily King obsession continued as I watched an interview with her at Godmothers book store in California. When asked what was the book she recommended the most she said it was this book by Shirley Hazzard. I think the character in Writers and Lovers says it is her favourite book too! Anyway, I dove straight in….
And dive in you certainly can. The story is set in the Tuscan countryside and follows Sophie, a young half-English, half-Italian woman and Tancredi, a mature sophisticated Italian architect as they embark on a Summer romance together. The descriptions of the luscious environment and the passing seasons within this book are so vivid and sumptuous that I booked a European holiday immediately after finishing. This is a short simple book which will transport you straight to the mediterranean to experience the intensity and joy of a short-lived romance.
I’m going to start by saying that this book will not be for everybody. One friend said she found it really hard going. And another friend couldn’t finish it as she found the subject matter too upsetting. I also found it pretty distressing and it had me in tears more than once, but I really wanted to see what happened to the characters in the different scenarios played out in this book. The story uses a “sliding doors” approach, exploring three different directions the characters’ lives can go in depending on one decision that must be made. Cora is a mother of two trapped in an abusive marriage. As she goes to register her newborn son’s birth she is faced with three different names she could choose to call her him. Does she name the baby after his father as her husband has demanded?; choose a strong and lovable name chosen by her young daughter?; or choose the name that she likes best which allows for freedom and creativity? The book continues down three alternate plot lines following each of these different decisions.
This story is incredibly original and I enjoyed it, but it heavily features domestic abuse and has a lot of heartbreaking moments. Decide whether this is what you want right now before going in.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
I read this whilst on holiday in Portugal in Spring, the aforementioned European break I booked, and it was a perfect holiday read. The story is told entirely through letters to and from the protagonist, 73 year old Sybil Van Antwerp. You spend the whole book piecing the different parts of Sybil’s character, and the puzzle of her life, together. Through her correspondence we learn about her relationships, the reality behind an old family tragedy and her increasingly isolated life. You’ll finish this book feeling like it is never too late. Never too late to mend broken relationships, forgive ourselves and experience new adventures.
Three Days In June by Anne Tyler
I picked this neat novella up at a book shop when I was early for a dentist appointment one day and wanted to distract myself for 20 minutes. It covers a three day weekend surrounding the wedding of the narrator’s daughter, and it took me three days to read it. It is a charming, funny book exploring marriage, forgiveness and second chances. After finishing it I made a promise to myself to read more of Anne Tyler’s work. In the words of Tyler herself: “If you love a good war story, you won't be remotely interested in my books. Nothing's going on in them except time passing, and people being who they are."
I’m currently reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke as there is so much buzz around this book. I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t fully comment but it is a page turner, albeit with some very unsettling moments.
And these are some books to be read on my bedside table. I might need a palate cleanser after Yesteryear! Have you read any of them and what would you recommend next?
Whatever you pick up this Summer I wish you lots of happy reading 📖
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