BRILLIANT SUMMER READS

BOOKS HAVE THE POWER TO TRANSPORT US TO DIFFERENT WORLDS. SO, WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING THIS SUMMER, DIP INTO THESE WONDERFUL READS, RECOMMENDED BY SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS

Famous authors share some of their favourite books

‘A single snap decision can turn everything on its head’

Mike Gayle is the author of 17 books, including All The Lonely People, out now in paperback. ‘As it’s looking doubtful that many of us will get abroad this summer, I’ll be living vicariously through the characters on the pages of The Getaway. Isabelle Broom’s descriptions of Croatia’s stunning countryside and coastal towns are worth this entry alone.

I’m also looking forward to reading Perfect On Paper by Gillian Harvey, a funny novel about how a single snap decision can turn everything on its head.’

‘Everything is intense: love, loyalty, betrayal’

Santa Montefiore is loved by readers for her romantic novels set in exotic locations. Her latest is The Distant Shores.

‘One of my all-time favourite books is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. After the First World War, four women respond to an advert in a magazine and rent a villa in Italy. Mrs Arbuthnot and Mrs Wilkins, both neglected and cowed by their husbands, are acquaintances, but the other two, socialite beauty Lady Caroline and the elderly Mrs Fisher, are

‘I’ve furiously highlighted so many beautiful passages’

Journalist Poorna Bell has recently written Stronger, about how weightlifting changed her life. ‘Luster by Raven Leilani is such a gorgeously written book about a young Black girl who has a relationship with a middle-class white man in an open marriage. I’ve furiously highlighted so many beautiful passages.

A book I can’t wait to read is Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi, which was shortlisted for the Booker prize and looks at the toxic relationship between a woman and her neglectful mother.’

strangers. Each one is escaping the burdens of their daily lives and the beauty of Italy is about to transform them. This is a sensual, charming, intelligent and absorbing read. The characters will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book. I’m also looking forward to reading The Tuscan Contessa by Dinah Jefferies. I love wartime stories because everything is so intense: love, loyalty, betrayal – and there’s so much peril. Dinah Jefferies is one of my favourite novelists.’

‘I was caught up in their love and loss’

Esther Freud trained as an actress before writing her first novel, Hideous Kinky. She’s since written eight more books, including her latest, I Couldn’t Love You More. ‘I’d recommend The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain, which is a fictional account of Ernest Hemingway’s marriage to Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and is told from Hadley’s point of view. Over the years of their relationship, we come to know them both and the tempestuous, alcohol-soaked city they inhabit. I was caught up in their love and ultimate loss, and it was moving and refreshing to hear the story (Hemingway wrote his own version) the way Hadley may have experienced it.

I’m looking forward to reading Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It won the Pulitzer prize in 2018 and is a satirical comedy about a writer on a literary tour, attempting to numb the pain of losing the man he loves.’

There are tensions that will lead to one catastrophic moment

Kate Mosse on Everyone Is Still Alive by Cathy Rentzenbrink

‘I loved this book about the patience and wonder of gardening’

Women’s Prize for Fiction founder Kate Mosse is best known for her thrilling historical reads. Her latest book is An Extra Pair Of Hands: A Story Of Caring, Ageing And Everyday Acts Of Love. ‘Rhapsody In Green is an utter gem from award-winning novelist and gardening correspondent for The New Yorker Charlotte Mendelson. Subtitled ‘a writer, an obsession, a laughably small excuse for a vegetable garden’, it’s a beautiful account of the secret life of Mendelson’s tiny London garden and her quest to create a green paradise and about those writers in whose footsteps she walks. A book on patience and wonder and, in the end, on how gardening can save your life; it’s a delight.

Everyone Is Still Alive is the beautiful debut novel from Cathy Rentzenbrink. It’s about being a parent, marriage, guilt and changing expectations. It is centred around a community of young families on Magnolia Road, where coffee mornings and after-school gatherings are the order of the day. But beneath the surface, there are tensions that will lead to one catastrophic moment during a sunny afternoon. Tender, touching and ultimately hopeful, a perfect summer read.’

‘It’s drenched in sunshine and sensuality’

Deborah Moggach is the author of 19 novels, including These Foolish Things, which was adapted into the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Her latest book is The Black Dress. ‘The novelist Elizabeth Taylor has been my great discovery during lockdown. I’d known of her, and had read Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont, but for some reason I’d forgotten all about her other novels until I picked up In A Summer Season, which had been hiding itself away in my bookshelves. It’s one of my favourites, and perfect for this time of year as it’s drenched in sunshine and sensuality. Kate, a rich widow, has married a feckless, much younger man called Dermot. Everyone knows he’s hopeless; Kate, one suspects, knows it too, but she’s so drugged by sex that it takes a tragedy to shake her to her senses. Ha! We’ve all been there…

A novel I’m very much looking forward to reading is Loved And Missed by Susie Boyt. She’s a hugely original and interesting writer, and I’m a great fan of her work. Her latest novel promises to be pretty powerful – it’s the story of a woman who more or less kidnaps her baby granddaughter and brings her up. This is because her own daughter, the baby’s mother, is a heroin addict and way beyond caring for anyone. God knows how it will turn out, but I’m looking forward to an emotional rollercoaster!’

‘I read her book in one gluttonous gulp’

TV presenter Mel Giedroyc has recently written her first novel, The Best Things. ‘There’s an exciting book out this month, which is written by the fabulous comedy writer Georgia Pritchett. It’s called My Mess Is A Bit Of A Life and is an uplifting, touching and deeply hilarious selection of autobiographical vignettes mapping the geography of Georgia’s life. She’s truly one of Britain’s best. She’s won Golden Globes and Emmys for her writing and we must celebrate her! I read her book in one gluttonous gulp, it’s that good. To complement it, I am also very excited about Deborah Moggach’s new book, The Black Dress. For me, summer is all about reading and I simply cannot wait.’

I’m looking forward to an emotional rollercoaster

Deborah Moggach on Loved And Missed by Susie Boyt