If you’re a reader of fiction who has more time for reading for pleasure over the summer break, I hope these recommendations might be useful to you.
Varina, Charles Frazier
When I read Charles Frazier’s ‘Cold Mountain’, almost twenty years ago, I thought it was, perhaps, one of the best books I’d ever read. I thought I’d read the other novels Frazier had written, but recently came across ‘Varina’ published in 2018 (and I’ve also now discovered that he wrote ‘The Trackers’ in 2023 – another for the list). I’m always delighted to discover unread titles from authors whose work I’ve loved in the past.
Though not told chronologically, the story spans the years from 1842 to 1906. The young Varina, lacking better marriage prospects, weds the much older Jefferson Davis, a widower, expecting to live a perhaps dull but comfortable life alongside him. Instead, Davis becomes enmeshed in politics, ultimately becoming (the first and last) President of the Confederacy, defeated and hunted down for treason in the aftermath of the American Civil War. After separating from him, his wife Varina, her servant, a dwindling number of supporters and five children, the youngest a baby, flee Richmond and head for, they hope, safety in Cuba.
Varina is an amazing central character – strong and capable, intelligent and reflective. The novel gives us insight into the complexity of the politics of the time, Varina’s conflicting emotions and acute sense of guilt, as it explores the relationship between this maternal figure and Jimmie Limber, a mixed-race child she rescues in the street and brings up with her own children. Jimmie then becomes one of the fugitives escaping Richmond and dealing with the dangers of the flight.
I found the story tense, absorbing, and incredibly well told. Frazier is a masterful narrator, who has the capacity to draw the reader in and to build engagement with his characters. The depiction of the horrors of war and the poverty and violence it left behind is incredibly powerful. This book transplants us into another time, another place, and gives us a strong sense of what it might be like to have lived through it – as the best fiction, in my opinion, does.
Lucky Us, Amy Bloom
This is one of several Amy Bloom novels I’ve read and enjoyed in the past year, and it would make, in my view, a good summer read, with its strong story and compelling characters.
Half-sisters Eva and Iris leave Ohio for Hollywood in the 1940s, and the novel charts their adventures against the background of what was happening on the world’s stage. As with ‘Varina’, this novel transports you to a different world, and immerses you in the lives of Eva, the narrator, her extrovert half-sister Iris, their father Edgar and the cast of characters they encounter in a Hollywood which is perhaps not quite what we are expecting. It explores their deceptions (crucial to their survival in this place at this time), their secrets, and the subject of good (and bad) luck and how that can determine our future course and so shape our lives.
‘Lucky Us’ made me think, and I found the way the different strands of the story ultimately came together deeply satisfying. It taught me something, too – about the 1940s, about the reality of Hollywood, New York and London’s West End at that time, about the complexity of the different relationships the sisters become enmeshed in, and about human nature. The book uses plot twists and turns, vibrant description, quirky humour, well-crafted letters and entertaining vintage song titles as chapter headings to entertain and enthral the reader. I was certainly entertained and enthralled throughout.
Plainsong, Kent Haruf
‘Plainsong’ is not a recent release. I read it, and loved it, years ago, but have reread it in the last few months as we selected it for our Book Group discussion. This reminded me of what a brilliant read it is, and I decided to include it in this selection of recommended fiction.
‘Plainsong’ is actually the first of a trilogy of novels set in the fictional town of Holt, a Mid-West prairie town in Colorado, at some point in the past. I hadn’t realised this when I first read it, and it stands as a complete and satisfying story by itself. I have now read the second and third books since rereading the first, as Haruf explores the later lives of the characters to whom we have been introduced, and their descendants and other members of the community, in the ongoing narrative of Holt. I enjoyed all three, but felt ‘Plainsong’ was the strongest.
The title refers to ‘unisonous vocal music ‘ which is ‘simple and unadorned’, and this is an apt description of this story of inter-related characters whose lives intersect in a number of interesting ways. We meet, for example, a pregnant teenager; a school teacher caring for his young boys after the departure of his mentally ill wife; a smart and capable teaching colleague living with her failing father; and two elderly farming brothers whose relationship is, I would say, captivating – humorous and touching by turns. The characters are not idealised, and their stories are anything but sentimental, but I found myself emotionally invested, caring about what happened to them.
Haruf is an exceptional storyteller, I think. His prose is simple, but powerful. Dialogue is sharp and credible. The themes explored include loneliness and isolation, friendship and family, cruelty and compassion. There is a pleasing simplicity about the book, but also considerable depth in its exploration of the failings and the strength of humanity. Relationships can be complex and at times fraught, but we ultimately need other people, as ‘Plainsong’ aptly demonstrates.
The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer
I hadn’t seen the Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce film version of ‘The Wife’ when I read the book – probably a good thing, as I enjoyed the story as it unfolded (though I had a fair idea where it was going). I chose the book because I’d read and enjoyed others by Meg Wolitzer, including ‘The Interestings’ and ‘The Female Persuasion’, the latter of which I wrote about in an earlier ‘Recommended Fiction’ blog post.
Joan and Joe Castleman are flying to Finland where pre-eminent novelist Joe is to be the recipient of a prestigious literary prize. Joan looks back at the history of their relationship and so we see the present in the light of the past. The story explores the idea of identity and purpose, of the place of women within a 1950s academic and literary environment which significantly privileged men, and the dynamics of marriage with its tensions and potential for both loyalty and resentment.
Joan reflects on the early stages of her relationship with Joe. Initially she was his student, with a flair for writing, and he was married. There is wry humour in Wolitzer’s depiction, through Joan’s first-person narrative, of how the relationship, and Joe’s literary career, developed from this point, but also indications of fermenting rage and bitterness at how Joan’s life has turned out, and her resolve to make a change. Joan is very much at the centre of the story, and I liked her and admired her, while feeling frustrated by her choices, and the constraints which limited her choices. I didn’t feel that the ending was an unexpected revelation, as it seemed that Wolitzer had fed us sufficient clues along the way to point the inevitability of the truth. Nevertheless, I found it highly readable and interesting.
The Pier Falls, Mark Haddon
This book was recommended to me by a friend, and having read ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’, ‘A Spot of Bother’ and ‘The Red House’, I bought it expecting it to be another novel. I was initially disappointed to realise it was a collection of short stories. Although I appreciate the craft of short story writers, I enjoy immersing myself in a full-length novel, and sometimes find it frustrating when a story ends before I’m ready for it to do so!
However, these stories are quite brilliant. I found each one powerful, extremely well-written and atmospheric, and memorable. After each story I found I had to stop and process what I had read before I went on to the next one. I know they will stay with me for a long time.
The title story is about the collapse of a seaside pier, and it is brilliantly described – and casually harrowing. Several of the stories are similarly chilling, and they certainly pack a punch. I especially enjoyed ‘Wodwo’ (including the cleverness of the link to ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, if the reader is familiar with that), ‘Breathe’ (which reminded me so much of the area I grew up in), and ‘The Woodpecker and the Wolf’ (a foray into the realm of science fiction).
All of the stories were strong, and the subjects and contexts Haddon explores are fascinatingly wide-ranging. Whether you are a short story fan or not, I would recommend them. This is terrific writing.
So that’s my selection this summer, and if reading is one way you choose to unwind in the summer months, as it always has been for me, I hope there will be something here which you will enjoy.
Finally, in case you missed it (though I have certainly been over-communicating on social media, so I would be surprised if anyone has!) I have just brought out a fourth, longer novel, exactly two years on from the publication of my three short novels in one volume: ‘The Dresser’, ‘#OneWord’ and ‘The Button Box’. My new novel is 90,000+ words, and it’s called ‘Eighteen Months’. It follows a family of four – father, mother, 17 year old boy and 15 year old girl – as they navigate the pandemic in England in between March 2020 (the first lockdown) until August of 2021 (when we thought we were coming out of it – though we were mistaken…)
I found the subject very interesting to research and write about. I realised that my own memory of Covid was quite a blur, and revisiting what happened and looking at key dates and decisions, restrictions and the relaxation of restrictions, was actually helpful as I retrospectively processed my own experiences, considered the perspective of others and the repercussions of this extraordinary time in our recent past.
If you would like to read the beginning of ‘Eighteen Months’ , in order to decide whether you would be interested in reading on, the first chapters are available on this link.
And this link to my Amazon author profile will take you to information about all my books.
Happy reading!
jillberry102 