What to read on vacation: 30 fascinating books for every taste

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A selection of works for summer reading that will help expand your horizons and just relax.

Intellectual prose

The First Bad Man by Miranda Julai

Miranda Julai is a man-orchestra. In addition to filming a film, a director's project and a collection of short stories that won the prestigious Frank O'Connor Prize, Julai has a debut novel that also deserves attention.

“The First Bad Man” is a tragicomic story about an imaginary and real world; about loneliness, opposites and love. In the center of the plot is a sensitive and charismatic heroine, with her emotionality reminding each of us.

About Beauty by Zadie Smith

The light, sarcastic novel by British writer Zadie Smith won the Orange Prize, one of the main awards in the English-speaking literary world. The main characters of the novel - Professor Belsi and Professor Kips - specialize in the work of Rembrandt, but this is where their similarities end.

Political views, art, the idea of multiculturalism - throughout the entire work, their opposition only intensifies. Smith masterfully sneers at the university "war" and exposes the absurdity of all beliefs.

Love by Toni Morrison

Nobel laureate American writer Toni Morrison explores the inexplicable, multicolored nature of love. Passion, possessiveness, sacrifice, anger, tenderness, longing - all these feelings are inherent in the heroines of the novel, who gave their heart to Bill Cosey. A man whose influence on them has not weakened even after his death. This book is a kaleidoscope of stories in which Cosey plays completely different roles.

The Mysterious Story of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

Billy Milligan is a multiple personality criminal who helped him avoid jail time. Daniel Keys wrote a documentary about the amazing characters (which only the parodist Steve or the little Christine are) that filled the essence of Milligan. In the center of the plot is the arrested protagonist, juggling with the memories of his lives.

Love Pablo, Hate Escobar by Virginia Vallejo

The sensual narrative about the relationship with the famous drug lord follows the canons of the Latin American drama: the plot covers the ups and downs of energetic Escobar and the history of his novel. The confession of the journalist Virginia Vallejo is a kind of excursion into the controversial, bright, dangerous era of the formation of the Medellin cartel.

"Gentleman in Moscow", Amor Towles

Through the ironic, thoughtful novel by Amor Towles, one can look at Soviet realities from an interesting perspective. The main character, the charming Count Alexander Rostov, has been declared an enemy of the people and is forced to serve his sentence in the Moscow hotel Metropol, which he cannot leave on pain of death. This is how a new chapter begins in the history of the country and its own life.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

A 2017 Booker laureate, Saunders wrote an experimental text on the verge of the real and the mystical. So, in the Buddhist interpretation, the bardo is an intermediate space between being and non-being. This is where the story of the novel unfolds. Its starting point is the death of Abraham Lincoln's son.

Modern classic

Hollywood by Charles Bukowski

The unchanging hero of Bukowski's novels - the cynical rebel Henry Chinaski - appears before us in a new role as a screenwriter. This is a charming parody text, saturated with hangovers, unhurried dialogues and creative exploration.

Interestingly, the book is based on Bukowski's actual work on the script for the movie "Drunk", in which Mickey Rourke played the main role. Francis Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog - the writer also borrowed the prototypes of his heroes from reality.

Married Life, Hervé Bazin

An ironic novel about the hardships of family life. In the center of the plot - the lawyer Abel Bretodeau and his wife Mariette, living another crisis of coexistence. The famous French writer explores the "immobility" of marriage, fascinatingly talking about its pitfalls - every proposal, then an aphorism.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The legendary novel about one of the most powerful mobsters in America was published in 1969 and inspired Francis Coppola to create the cult film of the same name. The unhurried story of Don Corleone's victories and misadventures enchants from the first pages: the author skillfully describes both the mechanics of gangster life and the difficult fate of the Godfather himself.

Goodbye Summer by Ray Bradbury

Not everyone knows that almost 50 years later, Bradbury published a sequel to the popular story "Dandelion Wine". In this novel, the protagonist Douglas Spaulding grows up and lives new, unforgettable stories.

The Rest of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The book that gave the writer the Booker Prize and inspired Boris Akunin to take on the "Coronation" impresses with the authentic atmosphere of good old England. The story is led by the butler Stevens. Selfless service to Lord Darlington, detailed everyday life, dangerous intrigues, dedication and resourcefulness - one cannot but empathize with the protagonist of this novel, the text is so mesmerizingly built.

Fantasy novels

The Marvelous Maurice and His Rodent Scientists by Terry Pratchett

The novel earned its creator the Carnegie Medal, an award for the best children's book of the year. Taking inspiration from the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and his own sense of humor, the English writer creates a large-scale, non-trivial space. The imposing cat here coexists with the clan of rats, and in the dungeons there is an evil that cannot be overcome so easily.

Ubik by Philip Dick

One of the most famous novels of the American science fiction writer tells about the thin, subtle line between reality and illusion. In the near future, life does not end after death, and some people are able to turn back time. The world turns into a place where the supernatural is combined with the ordinary, and the heroes have to adapt to it and separate the wheat from the chaff.

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

The cult novel about Professor Challenger was published in 1912. The story unfolds on the territory of South America: the main character and his colleagues go on an expedition, during which they discover a world untouched by time.

"Wonderland without brakes and the end of the world", Haruki Murakami

A complex story about two unusual worlds. Wonderland is something like modern Japan, where evil frogs are found, and the subconscious is amenable to control. End of the World - gloomy Nowhere, in which there is a City and a Forest, and in libraries they read dreams from the skulls of unicorns. Like other bestsellers by Murakami, this novel is a masterly combination of the familiar and the anomalous, magic and human power.

Eternity's End, Isaac Asimov

The famous American science fiction novel was published in 1955. A large-scale story tells about the organization "Eternity", which has conquered time. Millions of eras and human lives are in their power. Global changes will begin with extraordinary events in the life of Andrew Harlan - a talented Technician who will encroach on the existing world order for the sake of love.

Detective stories

Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mitting

This novel is an artistic experiment by Lars Mitting, author of the nonfiction bestseller Norwegian Forest. The atmospheric plot develops according to the laws of a thriller: sudden death of parents, short-term memory loss, return to a mysterious tragedy many years later … In order to dot the i's, Edward Hirifjell will have to plunge into his dark past.

The Black Candidate by Paul Baity

A hot, witty book from Booker Prize laureate Paul Baity. Shooting, drugs, cops and political strife, broadcast from the point of view of the fearsome Winston Fauchey, all this immerses in the novel from the first lines and allows you to look at the American elections from a different angle. The author does not skimp on gloomy descriptions and highlights the problems of life in the ghetto.

The Abyss by James Rollins

A large-scale disaster novel about saving the planet from the apocalypse. A flash on the Sun turns into a series of cataclysms that threaten to destroy humanity. Survival instructions are found in ancient writings covering a mysterious crystal pillar at the bottom of the ocean. Perhaps 12,000 years ago, humans knew a thing or two about the distant, sinister future.

Atomic Angel by Peter James

The world is deceptive and illusory: good can turn out to be evil, an angel is a real devil. In this novel, the "angel" depicts an atomic monster capable of destroying millions of people in an instant. Only Max Flynn, a super-agent in the service of Her Majesty, is capable of stopping the disaster. This is an exciting story about the limit of human capabilities, courage and love.

"Apartment in Paris", Guillaume Musso

Cozy Parisian home is a meeting place for Madeleine Green and Gaspard Coutance, who by mistake moved into the same apartment. The social-phobic playwright and the former police officer sought seclusion and instead discovered the mysterious past of the famous artist's rooms and each other. This is an atmospheric investigation novel, in which the search for the criminal is intertwined with the personal stories of the heroes.

Swim Home by Deborah Levy

The cinematic novel immerses the reader in a resort environment in the south of France. The scorching sun, a villa with a pool, two married couples and - a strange creature named Kitty French, shocking guests with immodest and perplexing behavior. In a few days, serenity will turn into anxiety and tension: where did this woman come from and what does each of the heroes of the book hide?

Sentimental prose

Breaking the Waves by Carrie Lonsdale

A heartfelt family saga about women with extraordinary abilities. Molly and her daughter Cassandra can foresee the future, but this gift does not bring them happiness: predictions play a cruel joke with them. This is a novel about fatalism and human faith, love and real miracles.

The Secret Life of Lovers by Simon Van Boy

The touching, multifaceted collection of short stories earned the English writer the prestigious Frank O'Connor Prize. Each of these texts praises love in all its manifestations. The author carefully observes how this feeling is born in painful, strange and unusual circumstances.

Rhapsody of the Windy Isle by Karen White

Life is unpredictable: you never know what little thing will lead to dramatic changes. For Emmy Hamilton, owner of a bookstore, such a trifle becomes an accidental find - love letters from the Second World War. These texts are a bridge between the mysterious past of the O'Shea sisters and the life of Emmy, who decided to find the key to their story.

Carefree Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

This novel opens the saga "The Chronicles of the Kazalet Family", created by an English writer. In the center of the plot is the tragicomic life of one English family, where each of the heroes is looking for answers to the main questions. The story begins in 1937, and the relationship develops in an unsettling, pre-storm atmosphere.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

A lightweight, witty book about a mating experiment: To drive away routine and boredom, ideal spouses Sylvie and Dan surprise each other. At first, a funny game leads to embarrassment and gives many reasons for jokes, but soon the main characters are really surprised: it turned out that each of them keeps skeletons in a closet.

Chocolate by Joanne Harris

A touching, inspiring text about the mysterious Vianne (in the Hollywood film of the same name - Juliette Binoche) and her chocolate shop. Her appearance in a quiet French town is a real event for local residents, followed by other incidents, one more surprising than the other.

Plexus, Letizia Colombani

The French novel, which has won overwhelming popularity around the world, tells the story of the fate of three women, each of whom is ready to fight for freedom and happiness. India, Sicily, Canada - charismatic heroines live on different continents and have never met, but it is no coincidence that their lives overlap.