The team over at Picador have shared their top books for the summer. Heart-stopping, heart-rending, sensual, slow-burn stories – and all exquisitely written – their recommendations span 1960s Rome, 1990s Tokyo, and a riverside London pub. So whether you’re in the mood for a devastating weepy or blistering historical fiction, there’s something here to lose yourself in.
A Private Man is a gorgeous, slow-burn love story about faith, desire, and regret, inspired by the author’s grandparents.
In the 1950s David and Margaret meet at a Catholic college in the English countryside. Margaret is a force of nature: a young religious woman trying to modernise the Church. David is an incredibly handsome and newly ordained priest.
What a set up! This novel oozes sensuality, grips the heart, and beautifully captures a world in flux. Written by a poet, each line is a delight. If you’re a fan of Possession by AS Byatt, or Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, there will be so much for you to fall in love with here. It is the perfect summer read to enjoy with a cool drink on a warm day.
– Rosie Shackles, Editor
Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, 1978. The spark between them is undeniable, and what begins as a summer romance quickly blossoms into something greater. Spanning continents and decades, Almost Life is a story of the lives we almost choose, the “what ifs”, and the chance encounters. What if one decision changes the course of your entire life?
Neither Erica nor Laure are perfect, and I found myself frustrated with each of them at times, but that’s also what made me love them. They don’t always say the right things, and they hurt each other in ways that feel painfully real, but their connection never feels sugar-coated. It’s raw, passionate, and honest.
One of my favourite things about this book is that the settings feel like characters in their own right. I adored strolling the cobbled streets of Paris with Laure, but I had such a soft spot for Erica’s chapters in Norfolk. I’ve never read a book where I recognise every setting, from the beaches of Brancaster to the pubs of Norwich.
P.S. The Almost Life playlist is full of absolute bangers! I highly recommend for an immersive reading experience or sad girl cry.
– Emily Powter-Robinson, Digital Marketer
Hana is fifteen and lives in a tiny flat in the Tokyo suburbs with her mum, a struggling hostess. Her life changes when she meets Kimiko, an older, flashier mother figure. Together they set up a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana – one that she’ll fight tooth and nail to protect.
Fate throws them together with two more young women and they form an unconventional family: all lonely, all vulnerable, all craving independence as well as a place to belong.
Because of her quiet, introspective style, I find Kawakami’s novels incredibly comforting. But with Sisters in Yellow I also felt this unsettling sense of anxiety creeping up on me. As the fragile bonds between the young women shift, the relationships grow suffocating, and Hana’s need for stability spirals out of control, it is impossible to stop reading.
Sisters in Yellow will slowly blow you away and stay with you long after the last page.
– Eve Lynch, Marketer
Gwendoline Riley is a writer that just gets better and better. Her new novel, The Palm House, is about friendship, disappointment and having a difficult family.
We follow friends Laura and Putnam through their life in London. They are often in the pub, sharing a packet of crisps. Laura is a writer, Putnam is older, and struggling with the new boss at the magazine he works for.
This present day story (set in 2017) is interspersed with flashbacks from Laura’s teenage years in the Wirral, including an obsession with an older stand-up comedian that I now think about often.
The Palm House is a melancholy but hopeful masterpiece that I want everyone I care about to read. Riley is a powerhouse of a writer, and to me, this will be the London novel of the decade.
– Kate Green, Publicist
If you loved In Memoriam or Women’s Prize winner The Safekeep, I have your next favourite read. This novel genuinely kept me up until 5am reading.
Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell is set in the raucous world of 1930s Berlin. It’s queer, it’s seductive, it’s tense and it will make you cry.
We follow Hannah, a young Jewish painter exploring the new freedoms of the city: by day she’s sketching at the museum, by night she’s drawing dancers in the underground clubs, and taking them home afterwards. But Hannah gets caught up in a devastating game of survival when a commission for an influential politician’s wife goes awry.
Like Elizabeth Jane Howard, Rebecca has a flair for how the encroach of war can be written most movingly through the domestic. We can feel history coming for these characters – it is completely gripping, terrifying, and devastating in the details.
– Orla King, Editor
