What to read this summer? These recent releases from writers in Aotearoa and award-winning authors abroad are essentials for beach bags or suitcases.
What defines a “beach read”? Is it a breeziness of writing style? A levity in themes? Or is it simply a book that makes its way, packed
The final definition is preferable. Why limit the scope of summertime reading when the best releases of the year are so expansive? Scan library or bookshop shelves for stories that will absorb you into swoon-worthy, sugar-sweet romance, throw you into turbulent action and adventure and then project you into perplexing and meditative mystery.
This collection of books offers you that soaring range – taking you from the quiet bedrooms of Te Whanganui-a-Tara to the overwhelming emptiness of space.
When I Open The Shop by Romesh Dissanayake
When I Open The Shop is set in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and captures three distinct periods in the narrator’s young life, following the loss of his mother and the consequential opening of a noodle shop within Wellington’s centre city. It opens with a lifting of fog, as the narrator waves away a malaise of grief that has descended during a difficult time – the noodle shop venture is an attempt to find grounding in a bustling, sometimes unkind, city.
The three periods capture different moods and different relationships in the narrator’s engagement with this place. When writer and poet Romesh Dissanayake spoke to Viva in June earlier this year, he pondered the role Wellington plays in the story. “Sometimes, the frustration we project onto a city isn’t about the city itself, but something unresolved within us.” When I Open The Shop captures a different version of the Wellington you read about in headlines; one that should be supported and expressed in more local novels, we say.
Published by Te Herenga Waka University Press, RRP $35.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.Delirious by Damien Wilkins
This New Zealand story follows a decision between 70-somethings Mary and Pete, who make the call that it is time to downsize. It’s time to clear out their long-term home on the Kāpiti Coast and move into a retirement community. What follows is an honest and unguarded unravelling. Through the highly emotive novel, the author tears apart this oft-labelled “common sense” decision and presents the experience with all the gravity it invites. The past is not compartmentalised neatly into labelled boxes. Its events and emotions burst through packing tape and demand rumination and reflection.
Published by Te Herenga Waka University Press, RRP $38.
At The Grand Glacier Hotel by Laurence Fearnley
While holidaying in an opulent and remote hotel on the West Coast of the South Island, Libby finds herself separated from her husband Curtis following a storm. In recovery from cancer treatments, she begins to explore the grand surrounds while considering her condition and her emotional wellbeing. While the premise and setting of At The Grand Glacier Hotel might find comparisons to Kubrick’s isolationist horror The Shining, it’s not a scary or jumpy story. It is an introspective novel full of quiet but impactful realisations.
Author Laurence Fearnley, who was named the 2019 Arts Foundation Laureate, has discussed this story as part of a larger series, where she writes with a focus on one of the five senses. The echoes, creaks and kōkako birdsong that symphonise throughout At The Grand Glacier Hotel seek to provide a vivid exploration of the intruding and soothing nature of sound.
Published by Penguin Random House, RRP $37.
From Here To The Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie & Riley Keough
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.This is one for the fans and the celeb memoir obsessives. This reflective book by the late Lisa Marie Presley was completed by her daughter Riley Keough following Lisa’s passing in 2022. It spans Lisa’s life, from her childhood as Elvis’ only child to the behind-the-scenes happenings of various high-profile events in her later years. As a celebrity memoir, it’s unique in its production, quietly imbued with the perspective of Riley Keough as she attempts to faithfully portray her mother’s life in all its complexity. There is also an audiobook, should you prefer to listen to this winding tale (Riley Keough and Julia Roberts narrate this version).
Published by Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House, RRP $40.
Chlorine by Jade Song
This body horror and coming-of-age tale is a sickening debut from Jade Song, a writer based in New York. It follows Ren, a teenage competitive swimmer who is swept up by the demands of her sport. As a variety of factors contribute greater pressure on Ren’s wellbeing, her mindset begins to unspool – she adopts a belief she was born to be a mermaid. The content and gore within the book could be compared to The Substance. If dark, feminist horrors are your thing, you might like this. If you don’t like gore, then you should avert your eyes. (Either way, check the content warnings before you dive into this one.)
Published by Bonnier, RRP $40.
Whaea Blue by Talia Marshall
Within this debut book, Talia Marshall (Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Takihiku) tours memory, shared and individual, across Aotearoa. It’s not a memoir – the author has refused this categorisation. Whaea Blue draws on non-fiction events and experiences, blurring time and space and restrictive genre rules through a road trip across the country. From her essays to her reviews, the writer’s empathetic and frank observations have garnered much attention across Aotearoa’s literary scene. This book is an opportunity to engage, uninterrupted, in her distinct perspective.
Published by Te Herenga Waka University Press, RRP $40.
Madam by Antonia Murphy
The story of Madam – which catalogues the launch of a brothel in a small New Zealand town – might already feel familiar. That’s because an adaptation of the story graced the silver screen earlier this year with a cast that includes Rima Te Wiata, Rachel Griffiths and Kura Forrester (and comment from the NZPC: Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective). While the show takes plenty of liberty with the events, this is the memoir that informed the script. It’s written by Antonia Murphy, who launched an agency called The Bach in Whangārei. In the book, she catalogues her experience as the owner-operator from her years at the helm. If you are a fan of the Madam TV show, this book will offer a deeper dive.
Simon & Schuster Australia, RRP $39.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
This philosophical science-fiction novel was awarded the 2024 Booker Prize, with judges praising its beauty and ambition. Orbital follows six astronauts, as they rotate the Earth in the International Space Station. Author Samantha Harvey enters their perspectives to muse on our relationship to the Earth and each other, basking in the joy and terror of the fragility of both. Despite its otherworldly setting, the author has shared an ambition to write a “space pastoral” – a story that aims to engage with the wide open galaxy in a grounded manner. Science fiction fans will find this a refreshing alternative to epic and speculative plots. Contemporary fiction readers will be surprised to engage with familiar themes in the unbound cosmos.
Published by Penguin Random House, RRP $26.
More on books
From end-of-year festivities to book club discussions.
The Best New Books Of 2024: What Our Writers & Editors Can’t Wait To Read This Year. Revisit our most hotly anticipated books of the year for an extended reading list.
Thoughtful Gift Ideas For Culture Vultures & Bookish Types. A sophisticated assortment of artful gift ideas for discerning, well-read personalities.
The Best Books Of The Year (So Far), According To Booksellers. Booksellers from local shops consult their personal libraries and share their picks for the best books of the year so far.
South Korean Author Han Kang Awarded Nobel Prize In Literature. Han Kang, the South Korean author of 2007 novel The Vegetarian inspired generations of writers. Now, she has received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Everything We Thought While Reading Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood. Did we like it? Who did we like (was there anybody to like)? What of its emergent storytelling? And who on earth saw that ending coming?
