I read a lot. A LOT. About sixty so far this year though it feels more like eleventy billion. Some for work, some for pleasure, some for both. Some I’ve put down after two pages because CLUNKY. Some because the voice doesn’t ring true. Some just, well, meh. But, in case you need some summer recs, these are the ones that have, for various reasons, stuck; whose worlds have lived on long after the last page was turned. In no order, and with a pathetic effort at reviewing:
The Lesser Bohemians – Eimear McBride
Astonishing language and rhythm and passion, and a spot-on recreation of early 90s Camden.
Gorsky – Vesna Goldsworthy
Gatsby as a Russian oligarch. That is all you need to know.
Toffee – Sarah Crossan
The latest from the high priestess of YA verse.
Things in Jars – Jess Kidd
Sarah Waters meets the Grant Museum on crack.
The Gifted, The Talented, and Me – William Sutcliffe
Note perfect (and painful) portrait of a teen boy forced into ‘creative’ education who talks to his penis. Hilarious.
Little – Edward Carey
Madame Tussaud’s childhood fictionalised. A cabinet of wonder.
The Age of Light – Whitney Scharer
Paris, Lee Miller, dresses. Glorious.
Daisy Jones and the Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Imagine Fleetwood Mac dishing everything.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid
This woman can do no writing wrong. Hollywood from the 50s to present day.
Normal People – Sally Rooney
Believe the hype.
Peach – Emma Glass
Difficult and mesmerising.
Another Planet – Tracey Thorn
Herts suburbs in the 70s and 80s. Shimmering orange Kodak snapshots and wise insight.
Lethal White – Robert Galbraith
Because Cormoran.
To Throw Away Unopened – Viv Albertine
Gobsmacking memoir.
Joanna Nadin 