It’s the time of year when summer reading lists are everywhere, igniting debate about whether terms like ‘beach read’ are patronising and what a ‘beach read’ even is. Is any book a beach book if you read it on a beach?
Yes and no. My take on ‘beach reads’ is the same as my take on ‘guilty pleasures’: while I understand the problems with these terms, I do actually find them useful as designations. They’re phrases that exist to indicate a particular thing, and sometimes that particular thing is exactly what you want. On holiday, I often make a beeline for something escapist, a story that’s set in an exotic location or during a heatwave. And something easy too, the kind of book that won’t demand too much of me while I’m distracted and hot.
That doesn't mean I only want to read ‘beach books’ while I’m on the beach (or equivalent). I also look for novels that are heavy on atmosphere and feeling, that leave me with a strong impression of something. The kind of stories that end up so thoroughly imprinted on your mind, it’s like you’ve been to that place, lived through that event...
Here are some books that fit the bill for me.
A summer reading list
If you’re looking for a story that really feels like summer: Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy. Set during the heatwave of 1976, this slow-burn horror story is one of the most powerful portrayals of a hot, hazy summer I’ve ever read. Teenage Nif and her family are spending a month in a cottage on the Welsh borders. Obsessed with an invented belief system she calls ‘the Creed’, Nif takes up with a strange boy named Mally. The setting crackles across the page; the uneasy, ambiguous mood is all-consuming. It brilliantly brings to life the way summer heat makes everything feel slightly unreal.
If you want a comfort read: The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall. This is a book full of dreamy, hazy nostalgia as its main character, Beth, revisits the seven childhood summers she spent in Hungary with her mother, Marika, from whom she later became estranged. Evocatively written (if tending towards the florid), The Book of Summers is an easy, feelgood read with more depth than many of its type. There’s a detailed exploration of memory, regret and family ties, plus a mystery to resolve (Beth and Marika were close; how and why did they lose contact?) Perfect for lazy sunny days.
If you want something weird and off the beaten track: Fermentation by Angelica Jacob. During a scorching summer in an unnamed, stagnant French city, a pregnant woman begins to experience uncontrollably strong cravings for cheese, which then trigger a series of erotic dreams. It’s impossible to describe that premise without acknowledging how odd it sounds, but trust me: this is a mesmerising story in which the setting comes alive and the atmosphere is palpable. Like many of the books on this list, Fermentation leaves a strong impression. When I think about it, images of oppressive, shimmering heat and rich, indulgent food come to mind straight away.
If you like novels about art and artists: Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland. This is a brilliantly realised hybrid of a literary art novel (think What I Loved) and a psychological thriller. The narrator is on the verge of a career breakthrough when her studio burns down, taking an almost-complete series of paintings with it. Over summer, she decamps to an exclusive lakeside residency in upstate New York, aiming to recreate her lost work. In doing so, she unwittingly begins to follow in the footsteps of her idol, a sculptor who took her own life. It’s smart, taut and compulsive, and the narrator and her art are utterly believable creations.
If you want to get stuck into an absorbing saga: The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel. McDaniel’s Betty is big on TikTok and has become a sleeper hit in the past few years; if you haven’t read her excellent debut – also set in the town of Breathed, Ohio – the summer months are the ideal time to do it. During a heatwave, a boy who claims to be the Devil moves in with a troubled family, and soon becomes a lightning rod for the fears of the conservative townspeople. I felt completely transported to this strange place, a collision of small-town Southern traditions (and prejudices) and all the neon-bright excess of the 1980s. You have to be able to tolerate a certain amount of whimsy here, but it’s an engrossing, moving story told in unforgettably lush prose. (Also, HOW good is this cover?! One of my faves.)
If you prefer fiction that disturbs and unsettles: Antiquity by Hanna Johansson, translated by Kira Josefsson. Antiquity follows a shifty, itinerant, and definitely unreliable narrator as she spends a summer on the Greek island of Syros. She’s there on the strength of a vague invitation from Helena, an artist she’s become obsessed with. Already bubbling with sinister undercurrents, the story takes an even darker turn when the narrator switches her attention to Helena’s 15-year-old daughter. I read this book at the beginning of the month, and I’m still turning it around in my mind and noticing new things. While you can read it quickly, it’s deceptively simple – full of layers and hints and chilling details.
If you enjoy an ‘unhinged woman’ story: How to Be Human by Paula Cocozza. It’s the middle of a long, sticky summer in a suburb of London. After her abusive partner leaves, Mary becomes obsessed with a wild fox and begins to lose her grip on reality. This is hands down one of the strangest, most audacious stories I’ve read; while reading it, I spent a lot of time cringing and squirming over the uncomfortable details. Yet it’s stayed with me SO vividly: the way Cocozza pulls ordinary language into surprising shapes, the thick, hallucinatory ambience as Mary’s delusions become increasingly dangerous...
If you want to tick a classic off your summer reading list: Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, translated by Irene Ash (in the edition I read, anyway). Famously written when the author was just 18, this classic novella positively sparkles with deft characterisation, clever plotting, humour and romance. It’s a tale of decadent 'free spirits’ sunning themselves on the French Riviera, until Daddy invites an old flame along and provokes the ire of spoilt 17-year-old Cécile. It’s as fresh and cooling as a glass of iced lemonade.
If you want the book equivalent of a bingeable TV boxset: The Poison Tree and The House of Mirrors by Erin Kelly. Granted, these books do not have very ‘summery’ covers, but a febrile hothouse atmosphere is key to what makes them work. The Poison Tree centres on the summer of 1997 as naive student Karen becomes entangled with a pair of rich, bohemian siblings. It’s a suspenseful tale that brims with heady nostalgia; just like Karen, the reader is irresistibly drawn in. The House of Mirrors – a loose sequel – revisits the characters more than twenty years later, amid another blazingly hot London summer. If you’ve never read either of these books before, you’re in for a treat: both are difficult to put down, and you’ll be gripped until the last page.
If you like books that can’t be categorised easily: Something New Under the Sun by Alexanxdra Kleeman. I think Kleeman is a genius, one of the greatest modern writers, and Something New Under the Sun exists on its own plane: a bizarre, wild, colourful odyssey through a version of California that seems to be melting. It’s about a dissatisfied writer and a former child star investigating a conspiracy involving artificial water in LA. It’s dreamy and absurd, simultaneously a satire of the film industry, near-future SF, a thriller and a cautionary tale about consumerism... Yet it never feels detached from reality; there’s a humanity in the writing that grounds it.
Other books I thought about while making this list
There are tons of ‘destination thrillers’ I could have put here, but the first that sprang to mind were Lucy Clarke’s first three books, with their combination of mystery and travelogue: The Sea Sisters, A Single Breath, The Blue. Sabine Durrant does a great line in these too: I liked Lie With Me and Take Me In (though not Sun Damage, which was a dud).
More easy, feelgood summer reads: 300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson, The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell, The Night Rainbow by Claire King, The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas. Stuff with a bit more bite: Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller, The Pisces by Melissa Broder, Skin Deep by Liz Nugent.
The House of Footsteps by Mathew West (summer gothic), The Cloisters by Katy Hays (summer dark academia). Two books that capture the weird endlessness of a teenage summer and the strange contradictions of adolescence: Beryl Bainbridge’s Harriet Said… and Tasha Kavanagh’s Things We Have in Common. The lush extravagance of the descriptive language in Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend.
Books I’m thinking about this summer
Hot off the press, I’m currently reading Ellery Lloyd’s The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby and it’s exactly what I want right now: a soapy, but well-written, story about the legacy of a forgotten surrealist artist.
I’ve been saving Emma Cline’s The Guest for a sunny day; I thought The Girls was massively overrated, but this book sounds like something I’d enjoy (it’s about a grifter!) and I’ve heard great things. I picked up a copy of Johanna Hedman’s The Trio from a charity shop recently – following a love triangle that unfolds across two summers, and the fallout that results years later, it’s also going straight on my summer reading list.
You're such a great reviewer, Blair--just added a bunch of these to my to-list! Thank you for your thoughtful curation of this list!
I’ve been trying to get my hands on Water Shall Refuse them forever!! it seems a difficult book to find. but I’m glad to hear it’s as good as I expect it to be