Summer is here, and with it comes the opportunity to plan what we will be reading during our time off. I’ve just returned from London Book Fair, and each year I’m reminded of the impossibility of choosing the perfect reading list for the summer (or Festival programme for that matter), especially with so many incredible new authors and books being published all the time.
Luckily, as one of the hosts of the Emirates Literature Foundation’s Boundless Book Club podcast, I get to constantly explore new literature and exchange notes with my literary co-hosts and wonderful guest authors. I hope this helps you plan your summer reading list – whether your trip takes you on the beach of another country or on the sofa during a staycation with friends.
The Returning Favourites:
LOVE MARRIAGE by Monica Ali
Ten years after her last novel, Booker Prize nominee Monica Ali returns with her most dazzling summer novel yet. At first glance, Love Marriage may seem to be about the social comedy that can arise when two cultures clash, as a Bengali Muslim doctor gets engaged to her white co-worker. But as both sets of parents try to get to know each other and plan the upcoming nuptials.
Ali pushes past the obvious and delves even deeper as she examines what it means to marry for love and the societal expectations that can come with class and race. Set in modern England, Ali has created a vivid cast of characters, each of whom has their own set of flaws. Love Marriage unfolds with incisive wit, while still remaining a warm-hearted look at how we live and love.
Dhs112, bookdepository.com
The Inspiring Reflection:
THE STORYTELLER by Dave Grohl
Music aficionados will be more than familiar with Dave Grohl’s illustrious career: first as a drummer for Nirvana, later as the founder and frontman for his own band, the Foo Fighters. But The Storyteller sees him trade his guitar for a pen in what is one of the most riveting celebrity memoirs in recent years.
Through thoughtful ruminations and warm busts of wry, self-deprecating humor, Grohl looks back at the highs and lows of his life with refreshing candour. The book more than lives up to its title as Grohl proves to be a natural storyteller, both on the page and on audiobook, where his down-to-earth style and good-natured charm really shine through. It’s an impressive summer read from a first-time writer telling his story in his own words.
Dhs150, Borders
The One to Watch:
WAHALA by Nikki May
May’s book has been described as an Anglo-Nigerian Big Little Lies, and it more than lives up to this comparison. At the heart of the story lies a trio of friends who bonded through their shared college experiences: Ronke, a dentist hoping to find the Nigerian man of her dreams to settle down with. Boo, a stay-at-home mum wanting more from life, and Simi, an ambitious career woman hiding the imposter syndrome that plagues her.
When Isobel arrives, a wealthy old friend of Simi’s their once tight-knit friendship starts to splinter bringing forth the “trouble and chaos” the title refers to and leaving them more isolated from each other than ever. May alternatives between each character’s point of view, resulting in four highly memorable characters, whose stories unfold with all the saopy dramatic turns of reailty television- all while exploring the impacts of race, marriage, and motherhood- on the way to a schoking conclusion. Wahala is the perfect read for lazy summer days.
Dhs82, Borders
The Contemporary:
SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel
No author has captured the surreal quality of our current times as well as Mandel has, having gone from strength to strength with each subsequent novel. And Sea of Tranquility delivers. In this almost novella-sized outing, Mandel delves into the world of time travel as she weaves together different storylines, including a young man exiled to Canada for a thoughtless mistake, a musician grieving his wife by playing the violin in an old airship terminal, a detective on the hunt for clues pertaining to an anomaly in the North American wilderness, and in what might be Mandel’s most meta move yet- an author from the Moon who is best known for her pandemic- set novel embarking on a tour of Earth to promote her book.
Fans of Station Eleven and The Glass House will enjoy the references to her past works, and new readers will find plenty to love as Mandel easily renders complex ideas accessible in lyrical and spares prose that celebrates the power of human connection.
Dhs70, amazon.ae
The Familiar Face:
MS. MARVEL VOL. 1: NO NORMAL by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
Comics and manga have really grown in popularity over the last few years, but what writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona have done with this particular character is truly very special. Kamala Khan is an ordinary Pakistani-American teenager living in New Jersey City. When a city-wide event unlocks her superpowers, this Avengers-loving teen decides to follow in the footsteps of her favourite hero, Captain Marvel, and use her newfound abilities to help her city.
Wilson’s beautifully nuanced writing and Alphona’s stunning art take readers on a journey as Kamala’s introductory comic run (the first five of which are collected here) sees her navigate her new responsibilities, schoolwork, family, and friends — all while trying to figure out what doing the right thing means to her, both as a person and in terms of her Muslim faith. Ms. Marvel will be making her television debut this summer, which makes this the perfect time to pick up this critically-acclaimed coming-of-age comic series that’s perfect for the whole family this summer.
Dhs87, bookdepository.com
The Book Club Pick:
THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller
It’s no surprise that Heller’s debut novel was longlisted for the 2022 Women’s Writing Prize. The captivating page-turner tells the story of Elle, a 50-year-old mother of three, who finds herself having to choose between a life with the husband she loves, or one with the childhood flame she would have ended up with if an accident in their youth hadn’t changed the course of both their lives.
Heller skilfully alternates between what each man represents while unpacking Elle’s past and the decisions that ultimately led her to this point. Brimming with tenderness and devastating in its complexity, this summer read will suck you in from the very first page and stay with you until long after the last page.
Dhs75, virginmegastore.ae