May Reads
summer reading is on its way
On Memorial Day weekend, I took the Amtrak to Richmond, where I met up with a friend and drove with her down to Chesapeake to spend time with college friends. My worst nightmare is picking the wrong book to keep me company while traveling, so I decided to break out my Kindle and revisit my old friend Libby, my public library’s eBook platform. I do prefer a paperback over anything else, but I wanted lots of options. Who knows what you’ll be in the mood to read on a train? I was reminded how amazing it is to have so many (free!) books at your fingertips, without even having to walk to the local library. However, my train ride there was at 7am, requiring a 5am wakeup, and so I found myself asleep for most of it. The way back more fruitful, reading-wise.
Other than being a month full of delightful travel reading, May is also the first month I’ve tried to implement a monthly syllabus to guide my reading choices, the guidelines of which include: one classic novel, one novel published in the last five years, one novel in translation, one book in a format other than a novel, and two reads just for pleasure. The only requirement I failed to complete this month was a book that was not a novel. I’m very bad at breaking away from my precious novels, so if you have any recommendations for nonfiction, poetry, or short story collections, send them my way!
Emma by Jane Austen (my classic novel)
I’m feeling very accomplished this month at having finished my first Jane Austen. I attempted to read Emma a long time ago, evidenced by a slip of paper that fell out of my old copy: a hall pass from my 6th grade English teacher. I suppose I can’t really blame myself for not being up to the task at 11 years old.
Last fall, I went to see my brother’s high school production of Emma, which reminded me of the old copy on my shelf and gave me the inspiration to pick it up again. I’m happy to say it was an endlessly enjoyable read: funny, sharp, and sweet. I’m feeling more encouraged to tackle more 19th century literature, a category I’ve shied away from in the past.
Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst (published in 2024, so this book filled the category of published in the last five years)
An absolutely gorgeous novel that was not on my radar at all until I spotted it on a shelf at my local library and vaguely remembered a positive review I’d read. It follows the life of David, a young boy in England who grapples with his sexuality and the absence of his father, a Burmese man who died before he was born, in his life. The book reflects the way his life intertwines with a wealthy family who sponsors his tuition to a private boarding school and continues to influence him as he grows older. Their son Giles, who becomes an alarmingly right-wing politician, functions as a foil and a living ghost to David, lurking around every corner. This novel is beautiful and shocking, and I guarantee certain moments will haunt you. I particularly loved David’s relationship with his mother, a woman with her own secrets who centers the novel in something earnest and genuine.
The Honjin Murders and Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo (novels in translation)
Sometimes I have a deep craving for a mystery novel. I love how they absorb you and compel you to finish the story as quickly as possible, reminiscent of the staying up past bedtime, flashlight under the covers, compulsive reading of childhood. I had heard good things about these murder mysteries written by Seishi Yokomizo, and I’m happy to report that they delivered.
Seishi Yokomizo is an accomplished Japanese mystery novelist who has written 77 books, only a handful which have been translated into English. His famed detective character is Kosuke Kindaichi, an unassuming, messy-haired young private investigator. I thought The Honjin Murders and Death on Gokumon Island were masterful examples of the genre, and now I’m on a whole classic murder mystery deep dive. Yokomizo was inspired by writers like Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, so I’ve been combing through their backlists now as well.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
When I first began reading this book, I almost put it down. I didn’t love the style; it’s told through texts, emails, interviews, and news clippings, and sometimes the voice of the main character felt a bit cheesy to me. But I read on, and four hours later I had finished it in one sitting.
Writer Amanda Bailey is investigating the case of the Alperton Angels, a ritual murder-suicide that happened in a cult 18 years old and involved two vulnerable teenagers and their infant. Now that the anonymous baby has turned 18, Amanda’s editor wants her to track them down and find out the truth of the story. There are more twists and turns than you can fathom, leading to an explosive truth and a shocking end. If you’re on the hunt for a contemporary mystery that will have you turning pages long past dark, I do recommend.
And my two pure pleasure reads, by authors whom I already know and love:
Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym
I fell in love with Barbara Pym’s canon of work last year. The similarities among her novels are soothing to me. I delight in the comforting presence of her cozy villages, bumbling vicars, and sharp single women.
Jane and Prudence is her third novel, focusing on two friends, 40-some-year-old Jane, married to a clergyman in a small village, and Prudence, a 29-year-old who lives in London and can’t resist a dramatic love affair. Jane, wanting to see Prudence married off and settled down, invites her to stay in her village and meet a handsome local bachelor. Just like all Pym’s novels, this book is full of wit and humorous observation. There are other Pyms that I’m more fond of than this one, but still a lovely way to spend an afternoon.
A Big Storm Knocked It Over by Laurie Colwin
Laurie Colwin is an author exactly suited to my tastes, and so I was excited to continue my way through her catalogue. A Big Storm Knocked It Over opens on our protagonist Jane Louise after she has just gotten married. Jane works in the arts department of a publishing house, vacations in the Berkshires at her husband’s childhood home, and frets about marriage and motherhood.
I love novels that provide such simple slice of life. Nothing much happens, except, you know, the huge, life-changing milestones of getting married, having a child, and figuring out how to be a person in the world.
One very odd piece of this novel I have to mention is the focus on Jane’s promiscuous boss Sven, who salivates over his female coworkers and always has sex on the mind, yet remains a kind of friend and confidant—despite his major creep factor. Maybe this reads strangely in our modern era, where sexual harassment at the workplace is taken seriously—in the early 90s when this book was published, perhaps it was more common to have a libertine boss you were constantly fending off advances from and to consider this just a quirk of his personality, and not an HR violation.
Other than being distracted by Sven’s antics, I enjoyed this sweet, wise novel. Laurie Colwin is a gem.
This weekend marked the beginning of summer, which to many is the best reading season. It’s the time for beach reads to shine and for long summer days to tempt us to pick up something long and worthwhile. What do you plan to read this summer?