The Book Nook
Got a thirst this summer that only reading can quench? Independent bookstore Lit Books share their top summer reads with adventures that will soar right off the pages and take you along for the ride
THE PASSENGER
Satiate the appetite of wanderlust by treading the written path, both familiar and not, of Brazil, India, Turkey as well as Greece through
The Passenger series published by Europa Editions. Thematically focused on each issue’s desination, each book comprises essays, stories and journalism by award-winning writers. It functions nominally as a travel magazine but rather than your conventional guide to tourist traps and absolute must-eats, it provides insight into the lesser-known aspects of the country’s contemporary culture, which is further illustrated by stunning photography. For the grounded traveller, The Passenger series is a much-needed getaway.
BLACK WATER SISTER by Zen Cho
Written by Malaysian-born writer and 2019 Hugo Award winner Zen Cho, Black Water Sister is a fantasy novel set in Malaysia. It follows Jessamyn Teoh, who moves back to her home country and finds herself entangled with vengeful spirits, an angered god looking to settle a score and a voice proclaiming to be her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma, who was formerly a spiritual medium as well as the guardian to the mysterious Black Water Sister, the aforementioned deity. A masterful page-turner, the novel is a comic but endearing story deeply rooted in Malaysian-chinese culture.
SUMMER by Ali Smith
A concluding finale to Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet, Summer is written to be as topical as possible, capturing life’s contemporary vicissitudes and polarities. The beginning of the novel introduces an audacious pair of siblings—
Sacha, the social activist railing against the culture of indifference; and Robert, the genius anarchist. With their online art collective Art in Nature, the two attempt to return a sculpture fragment to its former owner, and it’s here that the narrative unfolds, cleverly juxtaposing Brexit’s anti-immigrant climate with similar measures that were taken during the Second World War. A masterful work of prose that alternates between the artistic as well as the political.
KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro
The first novel by acclaimed author Kazuo Ishiguro after winning the Nobel in 2017, Klara and the Sun is the quiet story of the adventures of the book’s eponymous hero, Klara, an Artificial Friend (AF) designed to be a companion to children and young adults in a dystopian world. Told from her perspective, the novel follows Klara’s journey from her days as a display model at an AF shop to her relationship with Josie, the young girl who purchases
Klara and takes her home. Klara is unusually observant and empathetic for an AF, and these powers become crucial in her quest to become as good a friend as possible for Josie. Written in Ishiguro’s poignant and lyrical hand, Klara is a story that beautifully brings to the surface the melancholy of hidden pains, the nature of change and ultimately, leads the reader towards a bittersweet denouement.
THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize in Fiction, The Vanishing Half is the 20-year saga of a pair of twin sisters, Desiree and Stella, who break away from tradition in search of new lives outside of their hometown, Mallard. Following their perspective of being two light-skinned descendants of a POC community, the sisters each have radically different approaches to escaping the clutches of their heritage, leading them to become estranged from one another. The novel embodies the uniquely American phenomenon of ‘racial passing’ but the subject of lineage, authority and purity finds a universal echo within readers everywhere.
KL NOIR: MAGIC (edited by Deric Ee)
One of the most readable anthologies of local writing to emerge of late is KL Noir: Magic, the most recent instalment after seven years. While anthologies are typically tricky beasts, editor Deric Ee has done a fantastic job curating a Malaysian collective. From the meditative City Dwellers by Muthusamy Pon Ramiah to the hardboiled crime piece by Collin Yeoh, the publication provides readers a breath of fresh, local air.
HOW DO YOU LIVE? by Genzaburo Yoshino
Originally published in 1937, this beloved Japanese coming-of-age novel has been translated into English for the first time ever by Bruno Navasky. Soon to be an anime directed by the auteur Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, the book is a meditation on what it means to live with honour and integrity while leading a life full of meaning. The tale revolves around Junichi “Copper” Honda, a reflective, precocious 15-year-old who turns to his uncle for fatherly advice after having lost his biological father.