Beach-ready Reads

Sarah Pollok’s list of holiday page-turners

After reading hundreds of books over dozens of summers, I can confidently say a great beach read can be surprisingly hard to find.

Light enough to draw you in during the savagely sunny days and meaty enough to feel like a worthwhile read. The balance is fine but here are some (old and new) titles that have it nailed.

THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO

by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Simon and Schuster, $23)

Few books have been so talked about this year as Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest work. The talent behind the popular Daisy Jones & the Six, Reid dives again into the glamorous past. This time, she tells the story of Hollywood bombshell Evelyn Hugo, who, now in her 90s, has a secret to share with an unsuspecting journalist. The perfect mix of history, celebrity and mystery, with an unexpectedly poignant and challenging ending, it’s a winner that will surely be passed around this summer.

ONE STATION AWAY

by Olaf Olafsson (Ecco, $35)

Beach reads don’t get better than Olaf Olafsson’s One Station Away. The 2017 novel revolves around three women; a pianist who finally receives fame after decades of dismissal, a dancer who dies suddenly without explanation, and a mystery coma patient. However, the story is really about Magnus, the New York neurologist who binds them together. As a son, a lover and a doctor, he plays a significant role in each of their lives. So much more than a simple love story, Olafsson deftly exposes the complexities found in relationships between family, partners, strangers and, most importantly, ourselves.

ANXIOUS PEOPLE

by Fredrik Backman (Atria, $25)

A lot of terrible things have happened in 2021, so if you need a reminder that the world is full of flawed but goodhearted people, this is it. The delightfully bizarre plot and rich, well-developed characters are entertaining enough, yet Fredrik Backman takes it one step further, throwing in two plot twists that you absolutely won’t see coming. Once you read and love the book, keep an eye out for the coming Netflix adaptation and read Backman’s equally stunning Beartown or A Man Called Ove while you wait.

THE ECHO CHAMBER

by John Boyne (Transworld, $37)

Still confused about the consequences and definitions surrounding “cancel culture”? John Boyne’s provocative and savage piece of satire is an imperfect but challenging dive into the gnarly topic. Be warned, this book isn’t exactly the most classically enjoyable to read; Boyne seems to test how unlikeable characters can be before readers fail to engage and some content can appear absurd to the point of senselessness. But you can bet the politically charged plot will start up some good conversations among friends and family.

THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH

by Eddie Jaku (Pan Macmillan, $38)

Whether you love history or enjoy inspiring biographies, centenarian Eddie Jaku’s memoir will appeal. Like many fellow German Jews, Jaku’s life changed in November 1938 when he was sent to a concentration camp. The next seven years held unimaginable horrors at Buchenwald and Auschwitz that Jaku recalls with startling detail. However, what transforms this devastating tale into an uplifting and inspiring story is Jaku’s perspective; that life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. So, with every challenging event described as a chapter, it’s framed as a series of lessons we can all take into those difficult seasons.

IT ENDS WITH US

by Colleen Hoover (Simon and Schuster, $23)

How on earth could someone let themselves get caught in an abusive relationship? Why do they stay? These are the questions explored and explained in Colleen Hoover’s tender and moving story. Living in Boston with her own business, Lily has come a long way from her small-town upbringing in Maine. Things only get better when she meets the confident, beautiful, and slightly arrogant neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. He’s ambitious, sensitive and as their relationship deepens, would do anything for Lily. But love eventually comes at a cost; one that grows so slowly, one doesn’t notice its size until it’s too late.

THE GREAT BELIEVERS

by Rebecca Makkai (Little, Brown, $25)

Regardless of the season or occasion, the best novels teach you something while making you feel something and Rebecca Makkai’s heartbreaking story about the HIV crisis in 1980s America nails both. The story starts in 1985 Chicago, where Yale Tishman’s life turns into a revolving door of funerals as Aids claims every one of his friends. Only his best friend’s sister, Fiona, is left. Jump ahead 30 years and Fiona is in Paris searching for her estranged daughter and wrestling, in her own way, with how the virus devastated her life. While it follows a different virus in a different time, the story of heartbreak, chaos and grief for the way things could have been is a story that is still deeply relevant today.

THE CHILDREN ACT

by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, $26)

Find a quiet patch of beach and a long afternoon, because this is a story that will reach through the first page and hold you captive till the last. As a fiercely intelligent High Court judge in London, Fiona has faced a lot of tough cases, but few beat Jack’s; a 17-year-old whose Jehovah’s Witness parents refuse a lifesaving blood transfusion. So, if you are a few years late to the 2014 novel, consider this the reminder you need, especially if you love novels that dive fearlessly into morally ambiguous issues, religious faith and questions without answers.