By Nicole Abadee
What makes a book a good beach read? Ideally, something you can sink your teeth into, that will take you away from the sounds of waves crashing and children playing as you hunker down in your beach shelter. It doesn’t need to be a light read, but it must hold your interest, and you need to be able to put it down and pick it back up easily as you venture out for the occasional dip, or doze off, so neither the language nor the plot should be too complex.
I had a massive fail last summer when I took Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse to the beach, having chanced upon it in a local secondhand bookshop. I read A Room of One’s Own at university, but, although I had read a lot about Woolf, I hadn’t actually read any more of her work and was keen to do so. However, despite several attempts on consecutive days, I was unable to concentrate enough to get into it – which says more about me than it does about her. I have now put it away in the “not for the beach” pile.
Virginia Woolf was a great writer, but not of beach reads.Credit: AP
These books are all ones I would happily devour at the beach – while the subject matter of some may be dark, in each case the book is compelling enough to justify its place in your beach bag.
Let’s start with Australian fiction.
The Seven, Chris Hammer
There’s nothing like a good thriller to keep you turning the pages and former political journalist Chris Hammer is a master of the genre. The Seven, his sixth novel, is set in regional NSW in the fictional town of Yuwonderie, where the body of local accountant Athol Hasluck turns up in a canal showing signs of torture.
Hasluck is from one of the district’s all-powerful founding families, known as the Seven, who became rich a century ago when an irrigation scheme was installed. More than a whodunit, like many of Hammer’s books, The Seven is also a gripping tale of political intrigue and corruption.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Shankari Chandran
In Shankari Chandran’s Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens – winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award – Maya, a Sri Lankan refugee, and her daughter Anji run the Cinnamon Gardens nursing home in western Sydney, a place of refuge until racist graffiti starts to appear on the fence, and Ruben, who works there, is violently attacked by a mob.
The novel, which moves back and forth in time between Sri Lanka and Australia, depicts the suffering of the Tamil people during the brutal Sri Lankan civil war, as well as Australia’s own history of dispossession and its legacy. Not your typical beach read, but utterly compelling, with its deep humanity laced with subtle humour.
Thaw, Dennis Glover
Australian writer Dennis Glover’s third novel, Thaw, is about Antarctica and climate change. Dual narratives shift between Robert Scott’s doomed Antarctic expedition in 1910-13 (based on firsthand accounts), and 2023, when Missy, a glacial archaeologist and the (fictional) great-granddaughter of Scott’s meteorologist, is determined to discover why the expedition failed, while her colleague is trying to establish a link between melting ice shelves and climate change. The descriptions in both parts of life on the ice are terrifyingly vivid. A deeply researched, chilling reminder of the reality of climate change that reads like a thriller.
Stephanie Bishop’s The Anniversary is an exposé of the publishing industry.
The Anniversary, Stephanie Bishop
In Stephanie Bishop’s fourth novel, The Anniversary, writer JB Blackwood has booked a cruise to celebrate the 14th anniversary of her marriage to Patrick, a (much older) film director. She is about to win a major literary prize while his once-glittering career is fading. When Patrick disappears overboard the true story of their apparently happy marriage and professional collaboration begins to emerge. An exposé of the publishing industry, an exploration of what it’s like to be a female writer and an insight into the risks for writers whose personal and professional lives are entangled.
Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld
Romantic Comedy by best-selling American writer Curtis Sittenfeld (well-known for Rodham, a fictional take on Hillary Clinton’s life if she hadn’t married Bill) is a clever, entertaining account of an unlikely romance between thirty-something Sally, scriptwriter for a TV comedy show (a thinly disguised version of US hit show Saturday Night Live), and Noah, a good-looking pop star.
Romantic Comedy is clever and entertaining and perfect for the beach.Credit:
Sally finds it annoying that smart, gorgeous celebrity women regularly fall for ordinary but interesting men, but the reverse never happens. She writes a skit about it, starring Noah; then he falls for her in real life. Their ensuing romance, which starts via an exchange of witty, increasingly personal emails during Covid, is entertaining and real.
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett
Tom Lake, prize-winning American writer Ann Patchett’s ninth novel, is also set during Covid, when Lara’s three adult daughters return to the family’s farm in Michigan. As they pick cherries together, they persuade Lara to tell them about her first great romance, as a young actress, with Peter Duke, her co-star in a summer theatrical production.
Lara later abandoned her acting career, but Duke became a famous movie star, and her girls are fascinated by their story of passion, obsession and betrayal. This gentle, contemplative novel considers questions such as how much your children need to know about your life before them, and the meaning of enduring love. Beguiling.
The Bee Sting, Paul Murray
Irish writer Paul Murray’s fourth novel, The Bee Sting, shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, charts the slow disintegration of the once successful Barnes family – car dealer Dickie, his glamorous, extravagant wife Imelda and their children, 17-year-old Cass and 12-year old PJ – due to the GFC-induced collapse of Dickie’s business.
The story unfolds through the point of view of each of them, against a background of ecological decline. The dark parts – a young life cut short, family violence, repressed sexuality – are tempered by Murray’s (at times dark) humour. These finely drawn characters will haunt you – as will the shocking ending.
Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano
Hello Beautiful, the fourth novel by American writer Ann Napolitano, is a family saga over three decades about four tight-knit Italian American sisters and the man who joins their family when he marries the eldest, Julia. Emotionally repressed William is a basketball hero when he meets smart, ambitious Julia at college, and they marry young. As the years pass, bringing challenges, he becomes close to the dreamy, bookish Sylvie, the second sister, with dire consequences for all four. A tender, compassionate portrayal of the unique bond between sisters, the complexity of family dynamics and the price of love.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
Don’t be deterred by the garish cover and the gaming theme - American writer Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will tug at your heartstrings and grip you from start to finish. It is the story of bright, creative Sam and Sadie, who meet as children then reconnect in their twenties and together build a blockbuster video game that propels them to international fame while they are still at college. They love each other but are not in love, and the twists and turns in their relationship and the challenges to it over the years make this a rich, deeply satisfying read.
Darling, India Knight
British writer and columnist India Knight’s fifth novel, Darling, is a modern retelling of Nancy Mitford’s much-loved The Pursuit of Love. The story of beautiful, irrepressible Linda Radlett, whose wealthy, tight-knit family lives in the countryside and whose father is a former rockstar, is told through the eyes of Fanny, her cousin and close confidante. Eager to break free from provincial life and find love, Linda flees to London, where she makes two bad marriages – the first to an aristocrat, the next to a would-be Communist. Sparkling dialogue, brilliantly drawn characters and lashings of humour - all you could ask for in a great beach read.
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