Prepare for a summer of poolside reading and bulging beach bags. With summer in full swing, these are the best beach reads to bookmark now.
Heading to the beach? From devourable memoirs with steamy plot twists to sharp-eyed tales of self-discovery, these sizzling summer reads are all you’ll require. Transport yourself to the streets of Marseille over a hot summer’s weekend, immerse yourself in a delicious family drama in Connecticut, or follow a contemporary tale of modern love in the city.
Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke
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In this addictive debut novel, Caro Claire Burke explores the intoxicating and sinister undertone of influencer and tradwife culture. Behind the veneer of Natalie Heller Mills’ immaculate social media presence is a ruthless protagonist living on a farm with her ‘cowboy’ husband, Caleb, and six – soon to be seven – children. From the viewer’s perspective, Natalie and her husband have created an idyllic pioneer lifestyle of self-sufficiency. What viewers aren’t aware of is the couple’s complete lack of experience or knowledge on agriculture and how to run a farm, using Reddit threads and helpers behind the scenes to do it all for them. A few chapters in, Natalie wakes up in what appears to be an alternate universe in the 1800s. Everything’s familiar yet different, causing Natalie to question this bizarre reality and the people surrounding her. Are they her family? Is this her real home or a reality TV hoax? Brace for a few mind-blowing twists and turns that’ll keep you glued to your picnic blanket or poolside lounger.
Long Distance, Aysegül Savas
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An exquisite companion to your euro summer travels, this book of short stories is as much a paean to art, anthropology and friendship as it is to Europe. Allow Turkish writer Ayşegül Savaş to parachute you to the streets of Rome, Marseille and Paris in exploration of modern love and life. Relationship dynamics are approached with Savaş’ signature anthropological eye: three old university friends meet and come to terms with a changed dynamic in Marseille, an expat abroad details a visit from her long-distance lover; a couple considers their cultural differences and the flicker of melancholy this brings. Each story has a backdrop that makes you want to move to Europe and live the life of a flâneur.
I Want You to Be Happy, Jem Calder
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For lovers of contemporary literature along the lines of Sally Rooney, Jem Calder’s debut novel details the conundrums of modern love with similar poignancy. In the first few pages, we meet Joey (23) and Chuck (35) in a rowdy bar in London talking about their respective professions and generational differences. Chuck seems nervous and acutely aware of the age gap; Joey exerts a level of blasé confidence that we learn is performative. What initially seems like a first date is in fact a chance meeting between two strangers who end up exchanging numbers and continuing the romance – despite Chuck’s recent break-up after a ten-year relationship. Told in a contemporary style of staccato sentences and short bursts of poetry, Calder delivers a realistic portrait of modern love tinged with a tentative flicker of hope.
Alan Opts Out, Courtney Maum
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Published in June, Alan Opts Out will take you to the pristine picket fences of Greenwich in Connecticut and the home of Alan and Vivian (née Valerie). On the surface, Alan and Vivian live a life of domestic bliss: Alan has his own successful advertising company and Valerie leads a life of leisure and immaculate homemaking. Their two daughters attend prestigious schools, Alan plays tennis at the country club every weekend and Vivian attempts to join an elite club called the Queen Annes – which is essentially an endless process of grown-up hazing. After losing a major pitch at work, Alan experiences a life-changing epiphany that alters the trajectory of his life. For fans of The White Lotus and Beef (season two), Maum’s knack for comedy and TV-style dialogue make for a novel that’s a joy to read.
Famesick, Lena Dunham
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For anyone who was brought up watching the HBO series show ‘Girls’, Lena Dunham’s new memoir offers a nostalgic retelling of this era. The TV show, which first aired in 2012, depicted the lives of four just-graduated millennial women living and working in New York, attending warehouse parties in Bushwick and making terrible life decisions. To revisit the series over a decade later through the lens of Dunham’s first-hand experiences offers an entirely new portal to the show, enough to make you want to rewatch the whole series. Flashes from this era are interwoven with Dunham’s chronic illness that came to define her 20s and 30s. This tell-all memoir is a gripping and confessional read featuring the author’s frank reflections on the cost of fame.
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