emerald street 20 books you must read
TRANSCRIPT
20 BOOKS Y O U
MUST READF R O M A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C S T O T H I S Y E A R ’ S
E S S E N T I A L R E A D S , H E R E ’ S E M E R A L D S T R E E T ’ S D E F I N I T I V E G U I D E T O T H E P E R F E C T B O O K S H E L F
2 0 N O V E L S Y O U M U S T R E A D
2 0 N O V E L S Y O U M U S T R E A D
2
E M E R A L D S T R E E T I S A U N I Q U E , F R E E , D A I L Y E M A I L F R O M S T Y L I S T M A G A Z I N E . I T ’ S F U L L O F P L A C E S T O G O , F A S H I O N T R E N D S , M U S T - B U Y
B E A U T Y P R O D U C T S , B O O K S , C U L T U R E A N D I D E A S . F O R T H E L A T E S T N E W B A R S A N D R E S T A U R A N T S A S W E L L A S E X P E R T T I P S S I G N U P N O W A T
E M E R A L D S T R E E T . C O M
TRAILER HAPPINESS
177 Portobello Road, London, W11
A roaring fire greets drinkers at Trailer Happiness.
Not the sort you toast marshmallows over – the
sort you drink. The Zombie Volcano Bowl (£20) is
a miniature ceramic volcano, filled with rum, set
alight and served with several straws. It’s the Tiki
bar’s star attraction and it’s lethal (there is a limit
of two per person, per night), so make sure you
order a jerk chicken sandwich (£8) for some
sustenance. Afterwards, you can hit the Sixties-
inspired dance floor and shimmy away to the
sounds of northern soul and Motown.
Know somewhere better? Email us at
ON MONDAY’S EMERALD STREET: OUR BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!
WANT MORE? Matilda, Alice, Anne, Milly Molly Mandy… Our favourite heroines of girl fiction.
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Our day off work isn’t looking
too shiny. Rain on a Bank
Holiday may well be a solid
British tradition (like pork
pies, or inventing new kinds of
pop music) but the last few
were pretty decent. Still, even
terribly inclement weather can
be an opportunity to showcase
a good accessory. Our choice
would be this peacock-
patterned umbrella from
Liberty (£35). We almost want
the sky to start dripping now.
Experience (and
BBC weather
forecasts) may
have us expecting
rain on Monday,
but aren’t Bank
Holidays
supposed to be
about optimism?
Let us be rash and forget about the looming grey
clouds; let us instead turn towards this lovely gold
bottle of sunscreen from St Tropez (£15), which
contains a newly developed active ingredient to
stimulate the body’s own sun defences.
WE ARE BEING REALISTIC ABOUT
NEXT MONDAY…
…BUT THEN
AGAIN
CATHI UNSWORTH RECOMMENDS
The Knockout Artist by Harry Crews
“Harry Crews is the greatest outsider writer of 20th
century America, and the story of glass-jawed boxer
Eugene Biggs feels like nothing but the truth. It would
be my dream to write a book as real as this.”
Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth is out now,
Serpent’s Tail.
LISA JEWELL RECOMMENDS
The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox by Maggie
O’Farrell
“Maggie O’Farrell’s first novel caused a big stir in the
literary world when it was published 10 years ago. But
for me, by far her best book is The Vanishing Act Of
Esme Lennox. This is O’Farrell at her absolute best.”
The Making Of Us by Lisa Jewell is out now, Century.
Indulge yourself during UK Spa Fortnight.
We’ve teamed up with The Good Spa Guide
to give you amazing 2-for-1 deals on
indulgent treatments, breaks and days at
spas across the UK. Offer ends 12 June
Two for one
spa treats
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Friday 27 May 2011
THE BOOKS THESE WRITERS THINK
YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
Whether it’s the lesser-known novel from a famous author or a forgotten short
story, there’s always that one, special book that you want to shout about. The one
you lend to someone, don’t get back, and then buy another copy to lend to someone
else. We’ve asked five of our favourite authors to recommend their favourite ‘lost’
classic for us to read.
KATIE WARD RECOMMENDS
All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West
“Lady Slane is a widow who sacrificed her ambition to
be an artist in order to raise her children. The comedy
comes from her dreadful offspring, who believe her to
be batty. The novel is a gentle lesson in not leaving
things too late.”
Girl Reading by Katie Ward is available now, Virago.
ESI EDUGYAN RECOMMENDS
How German Is It by Walter Abish
“One of the most original novels I have ever read. It
recounts the story of Ulrich Hargenau, a writer who
returns to Germany after a long sojourn abroad.
Experimental without being obscure, the novel is one
of astonishing strangeness.”
Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan is out 2 June,
Serpent’s Tail.
CAITLIN DAVIES RECOMMENDS
The Story Of An Hour by Kate Chopin
“I first read this 25 years ago and it still makes me
laugh out loud. It’s a bit overblown, with a real sense
of Victorian melodrama and ecstasy, but it’s also very
daring and way ahead of its time.”
Caitlin Davies’ The Ghost Of Lily Painter is available
from 2 June, Hutchinson.
LISA LYNCH RECOMMENDS
Silas Marner by George Eliot
“Of all the books I read as a kid, this had the biggest
effect on me. In fact, it damn near broke my daft lit
tle
heart. But not half as much as it would if ever it w
ere
forgotten or truly ‘lost’.”
Lisa Lynch is author of The C-Word, available now,
Arrow.
The best-looking ladies’
loo in London? Probably
Rain, rain
don’t go away
Demonstrate
your huge
good taste.
Forward this
to a friend
E X C L U S I V E E M E R A L D S T R E E T O F F E R
Why is the fictional
world of espionage so
alluring, even the grittier
kind? “It’s the threat of
the familiar,” says
literary critic and English
academic Lucy Scholes.
“Everybody’s scared of
that on some level.” The
Cold War-set film
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier,
Spy, based on John Le
Carré’s book, is out on
Friday, so we asked Lucy
for her best spy novels.
xxxx
OPERATIVE: IAN FLEMING
FILE: CASINO ROYALE
“You couldn’t make this list without James Bond, and
Casino Royale is the first in Fleming’s series about
007. The books are less glossy than the films, they’re
darker and more violent. People don’t often expect
them to be, but they’re very well written too.”
OPERATIVE: JOHN BUCHAN
FILE: THE 39 STEPS
“You might be familiar with the films, particularly
Alfred Hitchcock’s version. The 39 Steps is set just
before the outbreak of World War One, there are
German spies everywhere and it’s really very, very
good. It’s also the first appearance of Richard Hannay,
who crops up in Buchan’s later books.”
OPERATIVE: IAN MCEWAN
FILE: THE INNOCENT
“This is one of McEwan’s earlier books, and, if you’re
only familiar with Atonement or On Chesil Beach, it’s
well worth going back to. The Innocent is set in 1955,
has a very Cold War plot, and concerns an English
man working in Berlin and having an affair with a
German woman.”
OPERATIVE: GRAHAM GREENE
FILE: OUR MAN IN HAVANA
“Graham Greene’s Our Man In Havana is a black
comedy, based on the author’s own experiences in
MI6,” says Lucy. “Greene’s a fantastic writer anyway
and this one, despite being gritty and dark and about
the problems of trusting local sources, has a real
comedic edge.”
OPERATIVE: ANNA FUNDER
FILE: ALL THAT I AM
“Anna Funder wrote an amazing non-fiction book
called Stasiland, about former East Germany, and All
That I Am is her first work of fiction, although it is
based on true events. It follows a group of left-wing
activists who flee to the UK when Hitler comes to
power. Just read it.”
THIS EMAIL CONTAINS
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
Lucy Scholes always gets a
thrill out of a good spy novel
CLICK HERE TO ENTER
Emerald Street’s editorial team is celebrating
Coast’s 15th birthday this month by
selecting its favourite five birthday celebration
dresses, and you could win them all.
Win 5 dresses
from Coast
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Wednesday 14 September 2011
“Makes my work day SO much better.” @LA3112
Share with a friend
Tomorrow night, BBC Four is
showing the last of the
wonderful Elegance And
Decadence: The Age of the
Regency programmes, so dive
into the previous two episodes
on iPlayer tonight. We’re very
enamoured of presenter Dr
Lucy Worsley, who by day
holds the impressive title of
chief curator at the Historic
Royal Palaces. We also like
her hair, but that makes us
feel shallow.
US photographer
Luis Gispert’s
latest project saw
him track down
the owners of
several cars that
are meticulously
customised and
decked out in
faux-designer bling. Fendi, Gucci and LV seem the
most popular choices for decorating a low-riding
logomobile. His pictures of the vehicles, with
previously taken empty landscapes visible through the
windscreens, are fascinating, bright and eerie.
EL PARADOR ROJO
213-243 High Road, London, N15
This is a real in-the-know place, unless you’re part
of north London’s Colombian community. El
Parador Rojo isn’t the loveliest place to look at,
with basic furnishings and the traffic of Tottenham
High Road thundering past, but the food is
amazing. The buñuelos (savoury dough balls) are
great on the side with a serving of salsa verde, but
pretty much anything you order will be good. The
coffee is also something special, made with
Colombian beans and served in huge cups. No
website, you really do have to seek this one out.
TOMORROW ON EMERALD STREET: WEEKEND FUN. TELL YOUR FRIENDS.
WANT MORE? Is advertising finally growing up? Take a look.
Know somewhere better? Email us at
CATCH UP ON THE
REGENCY ERA
CUSTOMISED
WITH LOVE
Illustration: Francesca Waddell Photography Getty Images
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Try something different: the buñuelos
at El Parador Rojo are divine
In the last episode historian Lucy
looks at the years leading up to
George IV’s coronation
CLICK HERE TO ENTER
A N E M E R A L D S T R E E T A D V E R T O R I A L
Win a girls night
out for you
and three friends
We want to know about your unusual dating
stories. Tell us all about it and you could win a
girls night out at a London restaurant, thanks to
the people behind hilarious comedy What’s Your
Number? Have you got any funny stories about
an ex or a disastrous date? Let us know your
story in fewer than 50 words for your chance to
win this amazing prize.
TRAM AND SOCIAL
46-48 Mitcham Road, London, SW17
We hadn’t a clue this gem of a pub existed until a
friend led us by the hand to the almost missable
black gates and through a narrow, fairy light-
festooned courtyard. It’s like finding the Potter-
famed platform nine and three-quarters. Once in,
it opens up into a huge venue with 75-foot ceilings,
a mezzanine, dance floor, and huge pipes that
belie its former incarnation as a tram shed. Huge
chandeliers loom and Chesterfield sofas and old
clocks complete the feel of a grand old mansion
that has been invaded by Tooting’s hippest.
Know somewhere better? Email us at
Tomorrow on EmErald StrEEt: fine Things To do in your area. Tell your friends
WANT MORE? Fake tan, bright nails, sunscreen: the summer’s best beauty buys.
Illustrations: Francesca Waddell
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06246263. You have received this email because you have previously provided us with your email address and subscribed to the Emerald Street website and email
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THE EMERALD STREET PROMISE
We only write about things we genuinely like - we can’t be bribed. Advertising, partnership emails and commercial offers are always clearly marked.
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As you may have spotted, the
past two editions of Emerald
Street have been guest edited
by Claudia Winkleman.
Unfortunately Claudia is
currently ill and has had to
pull out of all her work
commitments. We’ve
thoroughly enjoyed having her
be a part of Emerald Street
and are sure that you have
too. Best wishes from all of the
team Claudia and get well
soon.
Our guest editor
Claudia might be
off sick, but we
couldn’t fail to
mention one of
her favourite
organisations:
Roald Dahl’s
Marvellous
Children’s Charity. The charity helps seriously ill
children, raising money for individuals and
organisations and providing nurses, equipment and
toys. Claudia is an ambassador, but look at their site
and see what you can do.
A much-loved book is a precious thing, absorbing and exciting and we’re always
after recommendations for the next page-turner from friends and colleagues. We
asked around the office to find out people’s absolute favourites
THE CLASSY FAMILY SAGA
“I love all four of AS Byatt’s Frederica novels – soap-
opera engaging, but full of ideas and knowledge. Start
in the Fifties with The Virgin In The Garden,
(Vintage, £9.99) focusing on schoolgirl Frederica’s
involvement with a play about Elizabeth I. If you like
it, you can follow the Potter family and those around
them through to the early Seventies.”
anna fielding, Emerald Street editor
THE VICTORIAN THRILLER
“I love a good twist and turn, and there are so many
clever ones in Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Virago
Press, £7.99). It has you gasping constantly, as the
plot switches from one protagonist to another, and the
layers of double-crossing get ever-more complex.
Unputdownable and beautifully written, it’s easy to
see why this was shortisted for so many awards.”
megan Conner, Stylist senior writer
THE FASHION HISTORY
“Style City: How London Became a Fashion Capital by
Robert O’Byrne (Frances Lincoln, £35.00) is an
amazing fashion book about the journey of London’s
fashion scene. It’s very in-depth and covers a whole
range of styles and scenes. It’s an incredible insight
into what makes Londoners (and the rest of Britain)
such stylish people. I’m always dipping into it.”
morag Paterson, Stylist fashion assistant
THE GOTHIC DRAMA
“Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Virago Modern
Classics, £7.99) has it all: a love story, romance,
murder, intrigue and fashion. I’ve read it about five
times and I could read it again right now. It also
contains one of the best first lines in literature: ‘Last
night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’ It’s a signal
for me to settle down, happily, and read.”
amy grier, Stylist Junior writer
THE TEENAGE COMEDY
“Right now it’s Diary of a Chav: Trainers And Tiaras
(Hodder, £5.99) I had to stop reading it on the bus as
it was making me laugh out loud too much and people
were starting to give me funny looks. Writer Grace
Dent is hilarious and the way main characer Shiraz
Bailey Wood speaks is spot on. Yes, it’s for teenagers,
but it’s so funny you should read it anyway.”
Tom gormer, Stylist Photography director
THE SPY THRILLER
“I love spy fiction, it’s my favourite genre and Travels
With My Aunt by Graham Greene (Vintage Classics,
£7.99) combines aspects of the mundane with
humour and plenty of pace and suspense. Greene was
all about escaping from the ordinary and the search
for the exotic and challenging. This book makes you
want to board a plane and flee.” alexandra
fullerton, Stylist fashion director
THE COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL
“The Rotters’ Club by Jonathan Coe (Penguin, £8.99):
Seventies Birmingham, terrorism, prog rock, striking
factory workers and missing swimming shorts. It
follows a group of school boys as they adjust to the
world around them. A brilliant and funny coming-of-
age story and a truly great read.”
francesca Brown, Stylist Production editor
Share with a friend
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Wednesday 22 June 2011
“Wa-hey! Good times!” @LDNgirl788
OUR SEVEN GENUINE, PROPER
FAVOURITE BOOKS...EVER
Tram and Social is a
delight for all the senses
We wish Claudia a
speedy recovery
NEWS ABOUT OUR
GUEST EDITOR
MAKE A MARVELLOUS
DIFFERENCE
YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE
145 Fleet Street, London, EC4
This is old-world charm, thickly applied. They
even have sawdust, actual sawdust, on the floor.
‘The Cheese’ has been around since 1666, when it
was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London. It can
be a touch touristy (‘Like something out of Charles
Dickens darling!’), but on an early weeknight it
empties out, allowing it’s charm to show. The
pub’s warren-like network of small rooms and
perilously low ceilings impart a feeling of cosiness,
rather than subterranian gloom. And our friend,
visiting from New York, loved it.
Know somewhere better? Email us at
TOMORROW ON EMERALD STREET: WE’VE GOT YOUR PLANS FOR THE WEEKEND. TELL YOUR FRIENDS.
WANT MORE? Never grew out of your doll’s house? Take a look at a miniature Hong Kong.
Illustrations: Francesca Waddell
This email is from ShortList Media Ltd whose registered office is at Greenhill House, Thorpe Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE3 6RU, registered number
06246263. You have received this email because you have previously provided us with your email address and subscribed to the Emerald Street website and email
service. We hope you enjoy this Emerald Street newsletter, but if you no longer wish to receive any further communications from us, please click the link below
THE EMERALD STREET PROMISE
We only write about things we genuinely like - we can’t be bribed. Advertising, partnership emails and commercial offers are always clearly marked.
And we will NEVER sell your details to any third party, so you won’t be bombarded by spam mail.
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rivacy | Ts & Cs | Advertise | © ShortList Media Ltd
Rural Shropshire village Much
Wenlock hosted one of the
first national Olympics in
1850. There’s even a London
2012 mascot named after it.
The Olympic Opening
Ceremony takes place a year
today, but for a no-sweat
alternative try Yew Tree Farm,
with chickens wandering the
grounds and hilly views,
making it an ideal getaway for
the city person longing for
their own open spaces.
Piggy plays
guitar. A small
pink one. Lucy
also rolls out
rugs, waves,
stands on her
hind legs and
plays power
chords. The
multi-instrumentalist pig also bangs out a tuneful
melody on a keyboard in her desperation to impress
her rather demanding owner. Pigs are known for
being smarter than dogs, but they rarely get to show
just how entertaining they can be.
Emerald Street likes breaking rules. The Man Booker longlist was released
yesterday, so we asked five authors for their own Booker winner, from
any place and any time.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
BY RICHARD YATES
“I can’t think of a more devastating, unflinchingly
truthful portrait of a marriage than the story of Frank
and April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road. It has a
broader setting of course — a railing against the
conformity of fifties America, against suburbia,
convention and mundanity, but it’s also an intensely
intimate work.” Laura Barton, journalist and author
of Twenty-One Locks
CHRISTIE MALRY’S OWN DOUBLE
ENTRY BY BS JOHNSON
“Novelists who are determined to grind away at the
very idea of the novel tend to produce correspondingly
arid work, but Christie Malry’s Own Double Entry is
one of the funniest British books ever written.
Johnson was almost forgotten until a few years ago,
when Jonathan Coe brought out a biography; the
revival must continue.” Ned Beauman, author of
Boxer, Beetle
LIFE: A USER’S MANUAL
BY GEORGES PEREC
“Georges Perec’s sprawling, maddening and utterly
readable Life: A User’s Manual is set in a French
apartment building where time has been frozen at
23 June 1975, Perec tells the story of its occupants
both present and past, and creates one of the most
enjoyable and ingenious novels of the 20th Century.”
Stuart Evers, author of Ten Stories About Smoking
STITCHES BY DAVID SMALL
“If rules and attitudes changed, I’d love to see Stitches
win the Booker prize. It’s a graphic memoir about
growing up in the fifties with a closet-lesbian mother
and a radiologist father, who gives his son frequent
X-Rays ‘for his health’. It’s wonderful and deeply
felt but unsentimental.” Evie Wyld, author of
After The Fire
LUCKY BUNNY
BY JILL DAWSON
“I’d imagine this year’s Booker will be a shoo-in for
Alan Hollinghurst’s The Stranger’s Child but as I
haven’t read it yet, I’m free to award my fantasy prize
to Jill Dawson for Lucky Bunny. I adored the central
character – a Mandy Rice-Davies confection with an
even bigger heart – and have never come across an act
of literary ventriloquism like it.” Polly Samson,
author of Perfect Lives
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Wednesday 27 July 2011
“Miles away: but still can’t resist checking.” @lialoukas
THE OLYMPICS. THIS FARMHOUSE.
WHAT CONNECTS THEM?
PERSONALITY GOES
A LONG WAY
OUR VERY OWN
BOOKER PRIZE LIST
Share with a friend
Vist Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
and feel like you’ve stepped
onto a Harry Potter set
Relaxing’s not an Olympic
sport? It so should be
AN ALMOST TRUE TALE
Obsession and a strong Catholic element run through
Graham Greene’s The End Of The Affair, reportedly
based on Greene’s own romance with married woman
Lady Catherine Walston. “A bittersweet tale that’s
incredibly moving,” says David.
THE BIG HISTORICAL PICTURE
“Boris Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago is part-love story,
part-big historical book,” says David. The story of Lara
and the doctor takes in World War I, the Russian
Revolution and the Russian Civil War. “But the wider
context doesn’t make the relationship element any
less moving.”
THIS ONE WILL MAKE YOU CRY
So, Mr Nicholls does know what it’s like to cry over a
book: “Tess Of The d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
makes me sob and sob. People think of Tess as a
passive character but that’s just not the case. A
powerful book.”
DAVID’S ALL-TIME FAVOURITE
“Ah, Tender Is The Night by F Scott Fitzgerald is
always my number one,” says David of Fitzgerald’s
last novel. Set in the South of France in the Thirties,
the book explores jealousy, madness and, as David
says, “it’s very beautiful and lyrical and intensely sad.”
TOWPATH CAFE
42 De Beauvoir Crescent, London N1
The Towpath Cafe on the Hackney stretch of the
Regent’s Canal is so cool, its fame has spread by
word of mouth. People flock there for gourmet
coffee and an ever-changing menu of fresh,
seasonal food like gazpacho (they also do a rather
sophisticated grilled cheese toastie) and excellent
house wines. There’s a cheerful mix of chairs on
the canal path and cosy sheltered seats in an inner
alcove. This year they added an additional area
with rugs for sunny days. The Towpath is perfect
for early evening dates and Sunday brunch.
Know somewhere better? Email us at
Have you ever fancied taking
your shoes off and jumping in
a lake? Here’s how you find
that lake, and many other
alfresco swimming spots. The
Outdoor Swimming Society
has produced an interactive
map. You can input your
postcode or location and it’ll
show you the nearby rivers,
lakes and lidos plus if you’ve
got a local watering hole you
want to share, you can add it
to the map.
We have
conducted
exhaustive
research into this
subject and after
squandering
countless office
hours frantically
firing little balls
at other little balls, steering spaceships around cubes
and so on, we can report that the best way to waste a
Friday afternoon before a Bank Holiday is with
Bubble Shooter. Just don’t tell your boss we told you
where to find it.
THE NEAR-PERFECT CLASSIC
“Can I have two by Fitzgerald?” Oh, go on then. “The
Great Gatsby is almost the perfect book. Despite
never actually seeing the love story, you totally
understand the intensity of the relationship between
Gatsby and Daisy.”
Almost everyone has
fallen in love with One
Day: the novel pulled us
through highs and lows,
before leaving us sobbing
somewhere a bit too
public, wondering why
things were over and
how they could end like
that. The film version
opens this evening, and
we’re more than ready to
give our affair another
try. Emerald Street had
wondered which books
have the same emotional
pull for One Day author
David Nicholls?
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them every day. Keep
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T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C S
THE GREAT GATSBY BY F Scott Fitzgerald
HOWARDS END BY EM Forster
LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE BY Nancy Mitford
TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD BY Harper Lee
THE GROUP BY Mary McCarthy
EXCELLENT WOMEN BY Barbara Pym
REBECCA BY Daphne du Maurier
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D S
HEARTBURN BY Nora Ephron
GHOSTWRITTEN BY David Mitchell
COVER HER FACE BY PD James
THE BLIND ASSASSIN BY Margaret Atwood
WOLF HALL BY Hilary Mantel
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS BY Jacqueline Susann
GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA BY Douglas Coupland
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E S
ONE DAY BY David Nicholls
SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY BY Gary Shteyngart
VISION OF LOVELINESS BY Louise Levene
THE RULES OF CIVILITY BY Amor Towles
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING BY Rona Jaffe
A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD BY Jennifer Egan
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ot a great success when it was
first published, The Great
Gatsby has gone on to achieve
much-deserved status as one of
the finest American novels. Set
in the years following World War One, among the
wealthy but dysfunctional elite of Long Island and
New York, it sees everyman Nick Carraway
become part of the fashionable set for a summer –
only to watch the group spectacularly implode in a
mess of adultery, decadence and lies. The
enigmatic Gatsby, owner of the finest house and
thrower of the wildest parties, entrances Nick –
and ends up teaching him much more than how to
be a great host. Dripping in glamour, cocktails and
ambition, it feels like a treat despite the shocking
ending. It’s easy to feel more sophisticated just
owning it and the read itself is a treat.
About the author: Now much admired,
Fitzgerald was never convinced that he was taken
seriously during his lifetime. One of the most
famous writers of the Jazz Age, he was a notorious
drinker and party-goer, constantly lurching
between financial crises. However exhausting it
must have been for him, though, it made for great
material.
Sample quote: “There was music from my
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
THE GREAT GATSBY
BY
F Scott Fitzgerald1 9 2 5
neighbour’s house through the summer nights. In
his blue gardens, men and girls came and went
like moths among the whisperings and the
champagne and the stars.” – Nick Carraway
Did you know? Finished before the book,
the first-edition cover art for The Great Gatsby is
one of the most famous dust jackets in history. By
a relatively unknown artist named Francis Cugat,
it so inspired Fitzgerald that he wanted to
incorporate the painting and how it made him feel
into the book. Look at the irises of the woman’s
face: they’re reclining nudes.
PENGUIN HARDBACK CLASSICS, £14.99, KINDLE £0.49
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ssentially a story about English
class warfare, this is also a novel
with a huge heart. It sees three
types: a wealthy family determined
to play by the book, an ambitious
but pitifully poor young man, and two feisty,
well-educated sisters in the middle trying to bring
the two together. Howards End is a house in
the Hertfordshire countryside that means a huge
amount to each of them and also symbolises
the future of England. What seems like a gentle
Edwardian-read turns out to be much, much more
– about love, sex, marriage, money, sympathy
and snobbery. These are characters created over
a century ago, but their struggles remain
powerfully moving. The movie adaptation starring
Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins won
the Oscar for best picture, as well as Best Actress
for Thompson.
About the author: Born in 1879 novelist,
short-story writer and essayist, Edward Morgan
Forster is well known for the gentle irony and dry
humour with which he wrote about the English
class system in the early 20th century. His Italian-
set novels, Where Angels Fear To Tread and A
Room With A View, are also classics.
Sample quote: “I felt for a moment that the
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
HOWARDS END
BY
EM Forster1 9 1 0
whole Wilcox family was a fraud, just a wall of
newspapers and motor-cars and golf-clubs, and
that if it fell I should find nothing behind it but
panic and emptiness.” – Helen Schlegel
Did you know? Zadie Smith’s Orange
Prize-winning 2006 novel On Beauty is a modern-
day homage to – and retelling of – Howards End;
set in New England at the turn-of-the-millenium .
PENGUIN CLASSICS, £8.99, KINDLE, £4.99
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he follow-up to The Pursuit Of
Love, this novel also features
narrator Fanny, based on
Mitford herself. The novel is
largely about her relationship
with her dear cousin Polly and her eccentric
family, the Montdores. Set amidst the society
classes of England, it sees Polly’s exasperated
parents trying to encourage her to make a ‘great’
marriage, largely to her indifference. But where
the real interest lies is in Mitford’s rapier-sharp
wit and screamingly funny asides about the
eccentricities of the English upper class. They all
seem blindingly insane and utterly intriguing.
About the author: Born in 1904, Nancy
was the oldest of the six famous Mitford sisters.
Her younger siblings included fellow author
Jessica, Deborah – now Dowager Duchess of
Devonshire, and Unity, who married Oswald
Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists.
Famously witty, Nancy was one of the Bright
Young Things of London society between the
world wars, and incorporated what she saw
into her novels.
Sample quote: “I should like you to be on
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LOVE IN A COLD
CLIMATEBY
Nancy Mitford1 9 4 9
the verge of love but not yet quite in it. That’s
a very nice state of mind, while it lasts.” “But of
course, I had already dived over the verge and was
swimming away in a blue sea of illusion towards,
I supposed, the island of the blest, but really
towards domesticity, maternity and the usual lot
of womankind.” – Lady Montdore talking to Polly
Did you know? Carrie Bradshaw is seen
reading a copy of the novel in Sex And The City 2.
We can but wonder what Mitford would have
made of the film.
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o one is ever the same after
reading To Kill A Mocking Bird.
Not only does it work as a
cracking page-turner, but it is
also one of the most powerful
novels dealing with the issues of rape and racial
inequality ever written. Based on the experiences
and Alabama hometown of the author herself, it
has six-year-old Scout Finch narrating her own
coming-of-age story one summer as she makes
unexpected friends and sees her father, widowed
lawyer Atticus, take on a case defending a local
black man accused of rape. One of the few ‘set
texts’ that consistently enthrals in the classroom,
it also leaves adult readers kinder, more
thoughtful and passing their copy of the book
on to anyone they love.
About the author: Notoriously publicity-
shy, reclusive Lee has been played on screen by
no fewer than four actresses, including Sandra
Bullock and Catherine Keener, but hasn’t been
published again since her debut. She hasn’t given
an interview since 1964, claiming ‘It’s better to
be silent than to be a fool’, and the residents of
her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama are
famously protective of her.
Sample quote: “They’re certainly entitled
to think that and they’re entitled to full respect
for their opinions... but before I can live with
other folks, I’ve got to live with myself. The one
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRDBY
Harper Lee1 9 6 0
thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is
a person’s conscience.” – Atticus Finch
Did you know? Not only was the
Beckhams’ first daughter Harper Seven named
after the author, but so is Harper Peck Voll, the
grandson of Gregory Peck, who played Atticus
in the Oscar-winning film adaptation.
ARROW, £6.99
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et in New York in the Thirties, this
novel is an exciting feminist read,
as gossipy as it is inspiring. When
eight young women graduate from
the swish Vassar College and move
to the city, their paths diverge as they find
happiness and success in varying measure.
Watching women lust for education and a career,
as much as a family or an unsuitable man is as
refreshing now as it must have been upon
publication, and it is invigoratingly honest about
friendship and sex, as well as being laugh-out-
loud funny at times. Once you’ve read it, you’ll
judge every other ‘friendship novel’ you come
across against this one.
About the author: Seattle-born McCarthy
attended the same Vassar College in New York as
her characters, before embarking on life as an
author and critic. Those she studied with were not
amused to recognise themselves in her novel, and
years later she admitted that she had borrowed
from real life, calling it “putting real plums into an
imaginary cake.”
Sample quote: “Libby had a little secret;
she sometimes made love to herself, on the bath
mat, after having her tub. She always felt awful
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
THE GROUP
BY
Mary McCarthy1 9 6 3
afterward, sort of shaken and depleted and
wondering what people would think if they could
see her, especially when she took herself what she
called ‘over the top’.”
Did you know? Candace Bushnell claims to
have read the novel more than 10 times. In the
mid-Nineties, her editor told her she should ‘write
a modern-day version of The Group’. She did just
that and called it Sex And The City.
VIRAGO, £8.99
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comedic novel about a spinster,
an anthropologist and a
fanciable vicar admittedly
doesn’t sound like an exciting
proposition, but you’re going to
have to trust us: this is a hugely under-appreciated
treat. Set shortly after World War Two and
narrated by self-deprecating thirty-something
Mildred Lathbury, it is defiant, painfully honest
and genuinely hilarious. The title refers to the sort
of ‘capable’ woman who inexplicably never
marries, as Mildred spends most of the novel
either being set up by the well-meaning or let
down by the feckless, while always clocking the
wiles of those who are better with men than her.
The humour is razor-sharp and the gags remain
so relevant, it’s hard to believe that it was
published over half a century ago.
About the author: Pym could have been
a character from one of her own novels; hers was
a life of quiet dignity, she was clearly one of
life’s observers. She graduated from Oxford
University and then served as a WREN during
World War Two before having her first novel
published in 1950.
Sample quote: “I was so astonished that
I could think of nothing to say, but wondered
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
EXCELLENT WOMEN
BY
Barbara Pym1 9 5 2
irrelevantly if I was to be caught with a teapot
in my hand on every dramatic occasion.” –
Mildred Lathbury
Did you know? Pym took a long hiatus
from writing from 1963 to 1977 when she fell out
of literary favour. An article by Philip Larkin
describing her as the most underrated writer of
the century reignited interest and her next novel,
Quartet In Autumn went on to be nominated for
the Man Booker Prize.
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ave you ever had the creeping
suspicion that your boyfriend
wishes he were still with
his ex? Welcome to the second
Mrs de Winter’s life. We never
learn her name because she is the narrator of
the novel. After meeting and falling in love
with Max de Winter, she moves into his splendid
West Country mansion, only to realise that
there are reminders of his first wife Rebecca
everywhere. Menacing housekeeper Mrs Danvers
is particularly keen to keep her old boss’s memory
alive and makes a point of tormenting her
successor. Romantic, sinister and with a better
sense of place than any property show could ever
hope, this is a literary page-turner with class.
About the author: Born in early 20th-
century London into a theatrical family, du
Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, the
setting for many of her novels. While her work
sold well during her lifetime, it received little in
the way of critical acclaim. Movie adaptations of
her suspenseful novels and short stories have
helped to change the perception of her work.
Rebecca won Best Picture at the Oscars, while her
short stories were the basis for both Hitchcock’s
The Birds and Nicholas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.
T H E A L L - T I M E C L A S S I C
REBECCABY
Daphne du Maurier1 9 3 8
Sample quote: “I am glad it cannot happen
twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and
a burden too, whatever the poets may say.” – Mrs
de Winter
Did you know? During World War Two,
a copy of Rebecca was used as the basis for
a system of codes among German spies. This true
story was later used as the basis for the Ken Follett
spy thriller The Key To Rebecca.
VIRAGO MODERN CLASSICS, £8.99
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ased on the real-life breakdown
of her marriage to Watergate
journalist Carl Bernstein, this is
essentially the story of one hell of
a split. We’re left in no doubt as
to Ephron’s intense pain on learning – while
pregnant – that her husband is cheating on her,
but nevertheless this novel remains darkly,
endearingly humorous throughout. The
supporting cast, also based on Ephron’s real
friends and family, are utterly bonkers and of little
help, but they only serve to strengthen the
apparent heart-warming message of the book –
that we muddle through life. Oh, and as the
fictional Nora – Rachel is a cookbook writer, there
are fab recipes between the chapters too. What
more could you want?
About the author: Born in New York to
two Hollywood screenwriters, Ephron was born
to write. A director, novelist, journalist and
playwright, she is behind some of the best
romantic comedies of the past few decades,
penning When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless
In Seattle, as well as a perfect pastiche of The Girl
With The Dragon Tattoo for the New Yorker:
The Girl Who Fixed The Umlaut.
Sample quote: “I look out the window and
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
HEARTBURNBY
Nora Ephron1 9 8 3
I see the lights and the skyline and the people on
the street rushing around looking for action, love,
and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, and
my heart does a little dance.” – Rachel Samstat
Did you know? The novel was turned into
an underrated 1986 movie of the same title,
starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson as
Ephron and Bernstein – and a very young Kevin
Spacey as the thief on the subway who stars in
a key scene.
VIRAGO MODERN CLASSICS, £8.99
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his, David Mitchell’s debut, is a
precursor to his later, better-
known novels. But for our money,
it’s all the more magical for
displaying the extraordinary
talent of a first-time author. Telling nine
seemingly independent stories that are in fact
loosely interlinked, it is a masterpiece in
storytelling. There are so many brilliantly
captured voices, from the Tokyo jazz-lover, to the
Russian art-thief or London-based ghostwriter
that it makes almost anything seem possible.
Even a description of the different personalities
of each London tube line is extraordinary in how…
right it is. Several of the characters in
Ghostwritten reappear in Mitchell’s later novels
Cloud Atlas, number9dream and Black Swan
Green. You will be left dazzled, blinking at
Mitchell’s talent by the end of this book.
About the author: David Mitchell is a rare
author about whom relatively little is known,
despite his internationally best-selling status and
crop of prestigious literary awards. Born in
Merseyside, he’s 42, has lived in Sicily and Japan,
and currently lives with his family in Ireland. He
has an occasional stammer and has written about
how The King’s Speech “is the first film to portray
my speech defect realistically”.
Sample quote: “I am going to tell you a
secret. Everything is about wanting. Everything.
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
GHOSTWRITTENBY
David Mitchell1 9 9 9
Things happen because of people wanting. Watch
closely, and you’ll see what I mean.”
Did you know? A movie adaptation of
Cloud Atlas, by the Wachowski brothers of Matrix
fame, recently began production in Germany. It is
to star Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and The Hour’s
Ben Whishaw and will be the most expensive
German film ever made.
SCEPTRE, £7.99, KINDLE £4.99
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his was crime doyenne Baroness
James’s debut and her first novel
to feature the now famous
detective Adam Dalgliesh, the
poetry-writing policeman who
stars in most of her bestsellers. Beautiful young
housemaid Sally Jupp is strangled in her bed –
but behind a bolted door. Cool, methodical
Dalgliesh works out who the murderer must be.
The gripping novel follows his clear-headed
process of elimination in a house full of suspects
who all seem to have a motive. The novel heralded
a new standard for crime fiction, allowing the
genre to be perceived as something more than
narrative-driven pot-boilers, but to have literary
ambitions as well. It is an absorbing read – not
just because of the case in hand, but because
of the perfect snapshot of early Sixties society
that it provides.
About the author: Phyllis Dorothy James
was born in 1920, her father was a tax inspector
and James herself became a civil servant, working
for the police, National Health Service, Home
Office and Criminal Policy Department until she
finally became a full-time writer in 1979.
Sample quote: “The corpse was the most
unreal of all, a second-rate actress trying
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
COVER HER FACE
BY
PD James1 9 6 2
unconvincingly to simulate death. Her eyes were
almost closed , but her face held that look of faint
surprise which he had often noticed in the faces
of the dead.”
Did you know? The novel was written on
the train while Baroness James commuted to her
job in the NHS. Puts those creative writing
courses and retreat holidays into perspective…
FABER & FABER, £7.99, KINDLE £6.12
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ntricately plotted and perfectly
observed, Atwood’s Man Booker
winner is as readable as it is
admirable. Featuring two sisters -
cool, reserved Iris and the feistier
Laura – it sees the family hit hard times during
the North American Depression. Iris is married off
to a wealthy industrialist, while Laura meets a
sticky end when she drives off a bridge. But she
leaves a pulp novel behind her – which, presented
alongside Iris’ version of events, provides a novel
within a novel that slowly unfolds into a jaw-
dropping twist. Atwood, always a masterful
storyteller, is at her very best here.
About the author: Novelist, poet, critic,
environmentalist, legend and Twitter-fiend,
Atwood was home-schooled until her teens and
has published more than 30 books, including The
Edible Woman, The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias
Grace and Oryx & Crake.
Sample quote: “Mother might be resting,
or doing good deeds elsewhere, but Reenie was
always there. She’d scoop us up and sit us on
the white enamel kitchen table, alongside the
pie dough she was rolling out, or the chicken
she was cutting up, or the fish she was gutting,
and give us a lump of brown sugar to get us
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
THE BLIND ASSASSIN
BY
Margaret Atwood2 0 0 0
to close our mouths. Tell me where it hurts, she’d
say. Stop howling. Just calm down and show me
where. But some people can’t tell where it hurts.
They can’t calm down. They can’t ever stop
howling.” – Iris Chase
Did you know? Not only has Atwood been
nominated for the Man Booker prize a staggering
five times (winning it in 2000 for The Blind
Assassin), she has also won the Arthur C Clarke
award for science fiction.
VIRAGO PRESS LTD, £8.99, KINDLE £4.99
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Set in Tudor England, covering
the 35 years that follow the rise
to power of Cardinal Wolsey, and
650-pages long… it’s not a classic
beach read. But Mantel has two
secret weapons – the England of the 1520s was
a genuinely exciting time, with the king trying
to marry the intoxicating Anne Boleyn, and the
charismatic Wolsey cutting a devastating swathe
through society, and Mantel tells the story with
a pacy modern tone, which makes the pages fly.
If you have spent any of this summer transfixed
by the political and media power play dominating
the headlines, you’ll be just as entranced by
this 16th-century version. Genuinely gripping
and beautifully written, it is a Man Booker winner
to treasure.
About the author: Derbyshire-born law
graduate Mantel has written 11 books, as well
as having been employed as a social worker,
teacher and film critic. She spent five years
researching and writing Wolf Hall and is currently
working on a sequel.
Sample quote: “A man’s power is in the
half-light, in the half-seen movements of his hand
and the unguessed-at expression of his face.
It is the absence of facts that frightens people:
the gap you open, into which they pour their
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WOLF HALLBY
Hilary Mantel2 0 0 9
fears, fantasies, desires.” – Thomas Cromwell
Did you know: At the time of the 2009
Booker, Wolf Hall had the shortest odds ever
given by bookmaker William Hill – that’s what
a red-hot favourite it was.
FOURTH ESTATE, £8.99, KINDLE £4.49
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ovelist Gore Vidal dismissed
Susann by sniping, “She doesn’t
write, she types!” and critics
carped that she “typed on a cash
register”, but any girl who has
read a book on a sun lounger knows the power of
Valley Of The Dolls. Beginning in Forties New
York, it sees three ambitious young women turn
up in the city determined to make something of
themselves. The friends drift in and out of each
other’s lives as they each make a spectacular rise –
and in some cases fall – in show business. It’s
brash and trashy but those are its strengths, not
weaknesses: what it lacks in serious literary
themes it makes up for in ballsy women who want
more than just domestic happiness, and what it
lacks in long words it makes up for in crackling,
quotable dialogue.
About the author: A one-time bit-part
actress and playwright, Susann never became a
‘somebody’ until she wrote this novel. It was an
immediate runaway success and made good use of
everything she saw during her showbiz days. She
hated the movie adaptation, though, and walked
out of its premiere.
Sample quote: “Love shouldn’t make a
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
BY
Jacqueline Susann1 9 6 6
beggar of one. I wouldn’t want love if I had to
beg for it, to barter or qualify it. And I should
despise it if anyone ever begged for my love. Love
is something that must be given – it can’t be
bought with words or pity or even reason.” – Allen
Cooper (to Anne)
Did you know? Susann’s editor was the
legendary Michael Korda, who also published
fellow bonkbuster superstar Harold Robbins, as
well as work by Richard Nixon.
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he story of a teen romance with an
epic twist, it opens in Vancouver
in 1979 with a monster house
party at which Karen not only
loses her virginity, but also ends
up falling into a coma. What follows is years of her
boyfriend Richard doing his best to cope –
including looking after the child that their union
brings, then Karen’s eventual awakening. Told
through a series of narrators, the bizarre series of
events – which also include the end of the world –
don’t make this feel so like a big ‘voice of a
generation’ novel as an intimate, emotional one.
The earlier teen scenes are particularly moving. If
you ever worried that Coupland is all about the
gimmicks, this is the novel to prove otherwise.
About the author: Born in 1961 on a
Canadian air base, Coupland was first offered a
writing job after a magazine editor read a postcard
he’d sent to a friend. He became instantly
renowned when his first book Generation X:
Tales For An Accelerated Culture was published
in 1991. Perfectly capturing the ennui of that era’s
grunge-obsessed youngsters, he has since become
known as ‘one of the great satirists of
consumerism’. His novels are often as tender and
T H E M O D E R N M U S T - R E A D
GIRLFRIEND IN A
COMABY
Douglas Coupland1 9 9 8
understanding as they are quirky and zeitgeisty.
Sample quote: “I didn’t realise then that
so much of being adult is reconciling ourselves
with the awkwardness and strangeness of our own
feelings. Youth is the time of life lived for some
imaginary audience” – Richard
Did you know: The book’s title is inspired
by the 1987 single of the same name by The
Smiths. Several other song titles and lyrics from
the band are sprinkled throughout the novel.
HARPER PERENNIAL, £7.99, KINDLE £6.99
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t’s getting harder and harder to
find someone who hasn’t read
(and adored) One Day. With the
film adaptation out in September
and a flip-book edition in shops now,
it’s going to be everywhere this autumn. Taking
place over 20 years, revisiting a pair of
newly graduated students who spent one night
together, it charts the couple’s friendship
and what that becomes with a tenderness and
humour that has made both men and women cry
on public transport. If ever there was a book that
deserved this level of success, it’s this one:
as funny as it is sad, and as romantic as it
is knowing, the story of Dexter and Emma is one
of the reads of the decade.
About the author: Nicholls was an actor
for eight years before he made the move
into scriptwriting. He worked on Cold Feet,
and adaptations of Much Ado About Nothing and
Tess Of The D’Urbervilles. His first novel, Starter
For Ten, was made into a film starring James
McAvoy. He is currently working on his fourth
novel and a movie adaptation of Dickens’
Great Expectations.
Sample quote: “‘Live each day as if it’s your
last’, that was the conventional advice, but really,
who had the energy for that? What if it rained
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E
ONE DAYBY
David Nicholls2 0 0 9
or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn’t practical.
Better by far to simply try and be good and
courageous and bold and to make a difference.
Not change the world exactly, but the bit around
you. Cherish your friends, stay true to your
principles, live passionately and fully and well.
Experience new things. Love and be loved, if
you ever get the chance.” – Emma Morley
Did you know? Nicholls makes a cameo
appearance in the movie adaptation of One Day,
walking up a staircase in a key nightclub scene.
HODDER FLIPBACK, £9.99, KINDLE, £4.99
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et in New York in the not-too-
distant future, this love story takes
place in a society where people
barely talk any more, preferring to
stream thoughts, emotions or just
stats to each other via souped-up smart phones
called ‘apparti’. It all seems very far away… and
yet alarmingly close. Lenny is a 39-year-old who
doesn’t seem to fit in: he’s a romantic, he still
reads books, he longs for a girlfriend. The
commodified world that Shteyngart presents
is both terrifying and hilarious, and the romance
he creates is as adorable as it is heartbreaking.
There are few books as likely to make you laugh
out loud on the bus – and then look in terror
at your own phone.
About the author: Born in St Petersburg,
Shteyngart lived there until he was seven – in
a square featuring a huge statue of Lenin. He
moved to America with his family but much of
his work remains rooted in his “Russian-ness”,
now mixed with his “New York Jewishness”. His
first novel, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook
(2002) was named one of the decade’s best
debuts by The Guardian and follow-up
Absurdistan (2006) won numerous awards, as did
Super Sad True Love Story when it came out
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E
SUPER SAD TRUE
LOVE STORYBY
Gary Shteyngart2 0 1 0
in the US last year. He writes his books in bed.
Sample quote: “Do not throw away your
heart. Keep your heart. Your heart is all that
matters. Throw away your ancestors! Throw away
your shyness and the anger that lies just a few
inches beneath. Accept the truth! And if there
is more than one truth, then learn to do the
difficult work – learn to choose. You are good
enough, you are HUMAN ENOUGH, to choose!” –
Lenny Abramov
Did you know? There are a series of
hilarious spoof book trailers for Super Sad True
Love Story on YouTube starring James Franco.
GRANTA, £7.99, KINDLE £0.99
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e’ve all eyed a well-cut cocktail
dress on TV and found ourselves
wishing we’d been born in time
to enjoy the Sixties. Vision Of
Loveliness turns up the dial on
that feeling, then smacks you with the
consequences of a career based on a well-turned
ankle. Jane is bored of her life in suburbia and
dreams of glamour, excitement, even just a decent
cashmere jumper. When she finds a crocodile-skin
Hermès bag full of cash, she tracks down its
owner, Suzy St John and makes an exciting new
friend. Together they take to the clubs, shops and
bars of London, using their charm and good looks
to live the life they believe they deserve. Yet,
before long Jane realises presents don’t come for
free. Indeed, they often come at a very high price.
Perfectly evoking the grime and the glamour of the
early Sixties, just before they started swinging,
this is an absolute must for anyone who’s ever
wished they could just pull on a wasp-waisted
pencil skirt and become someone else.
About the author: Levene is the dance
critic for The Sunday Telegraph. She has also
worked as an advertising copywriter, window
dresser, radio presenter, office cleaner, crossword
editor, college professor and a salesperson.
N E W F A V O U R I T E
VISION OF LOVELINESS
BY
Louise Levene2 0 1 1
Sample quote: “Suzy and Henry’s chat had
reached the whispers and giggles stage and he was
stroking her tiny white wrist as he spoke. She was
leaning across the table with her pretty face
propped on her other hand, smiling into his eyes
and occasionally lowering those big, fat false
eyelashes as if everything he said was utterly
fascinating. Which it wasn’t, quite honestly, not
what Jane could catch.”
Did you know? Joan Collins OBE herself is
a fan, saying, “I loved this book. It wonderfully
evokes the essence of the Sixties.” If it’s good
enough for Joanie…
BLOOMSBURY, £11.99, KINDLE £6.78
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f you think you don’t like historical
fiction but know you do like Art Deco
jewellery, then this is the novel for
you. Taking place in 1937 after New
York’s Wall Street crash, The Rules
of Civility is a year in the life of twentysomething
Katey Kontent – who’s been described as Dorothy
Parker meets Holly Golightly. A wannabe career
woman with an eye for a party who knows how to
type fast, steal silk stockings and get strangers to
buy her champagne. What she doesn’t know is
how to stop falling in love, which messes things up
for her. Set in the world of sleazy jazz clubs,
louche literary magazines and men you’re not sure
if you can trust, this is a novel packed with period
detail, yet wearing it lightly. It has the kick of a
modern read with the setting of a classic one, and
is the most glamorous page-turner of the year.
About the author: Boston-born Towles
was educated at Yale and Stanford. He moved to
New York when his fellowship to teach in China
was cancelled on account of the Tiananmen
Square massacre: “I had all my belongings in my
car and had no idea what to do with myself. As it
turned out, an old friend needed a roommate in
New York, so I moved here.” It's this idea of New
York being a city of chances that is played out in
the novel. Towles now has a ‘day job’ at a
Manhattan investment firm and wrote The Rules
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E
THE RULES OF CIVILITY
BY
Amor Towles2 0 1 1
of Civility in his spare time. He says he’s a fan of
“early 20th-century painting, Fifties jazz,
Seventies cop shows, breakfast pastries, pasta,
liquor and cookies made by his grandmothers”.
Sample quote: “That New Year’s, we
started the evening with a plan of stretching three
dollars as far as it would go. We weren’t going to
bother ourselves with boys. More than a few had
had their chance with us in 1937, and we had no
intention of squandering the last hours of the year
on latecomers.” – Katey Kontent
Did you know? Towles says that his
grandmother, who lived in New York during the
Thirties, provided much inspiration for the book.
SCEPTRE, £12.99, KINDLE £6.99
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riginally published in 1958 but
newly reissued, Jaffe’s debut novel
was a great success but gradually
fell out of literary favour – until
Don Draper was seen reading it in
bed in an episode of Mad Men. The story of
a group of five girls working together at a New
York publishing company, it’s a classic tale of
friendship and ambition, and a prototype Sex And
The City. What makes it worthy of a place on our
bookshelves over 50-years later is the humour and
sparky dialogue, which makes it feel as if those
girls could sidle up to our desks today for a proper
gossip. The hemlines might be different but the
banter’s all too familiar.
About the author: This was the first of
seven novels written by New Yorker Rona Jaffe,
who sadly died of cancer six years ago, written
in the Fifties while she was working in publishing.
She later established The Rona Jaffe Foundation,
the only scheme of its kind dedicated to
supporting women writers exclusively. It’s gone
on to award US$850,000 (£515,000) to nearly
100 female writers.
Sample quote: “In her messy, overcrowded
closet she found a red dress she had liked and
forgotten she owned. It was a meeting-people
dress for parties; a blonde girl in a red dress
always seemed to be able to manage without
introductions. It wasn’t as if she hoped to
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E
THE BEST OF EVERYTHINGBY
Rona Jaffe1 9 5 8
meet anyone non-boring at this party, actually she
was only going there because there would be food
and good Scotch and it would be a way not
to be alone.”
Did you know? The book was made into a
1959 movie of the same name. Starring some of
New York’s most famous buildings – and Joan
Crawford – it was nominated for two Oscars.
PENGUIN, £8.99, KINDLE £4.49
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t first this seems like a novel all
about Bennie Salazar, rock star-
turned-record executive, and his
assistant Sasha. But A Visit
From The Good Squad is much,
much more. Told as a series of 13 short stories
looking at the past, present and near future of a
cast of characters, it’s actually a novel about
feelings, about music, and about human beings.
Edgy and individual (one notorious chapter is
presented in the style of a PowerPoint
presentation), yet completely inclusive, it’s a book
that will bring out the obsessive in you. Smiling at
people reading it, searching online for others who
have read it, buying copies for those you want to
read it: these are symptoms of having encountered
one of the very best novels of the past year. No
wonder it won this year’s Pulitzer prize for fiction.
About the author: Raised in San
Francisco, Egan now lives in Brooklyn and writes
for magazines. She realised she wanted to be a
writer when backpacking as a teenager, she
started a journal to stave off homesickness. She
still writes her fiction long-hand onto legal pads.
Sample quote: “The pause makes you think
T H E N E W F A V O U R I T E
A VISIT FROM THE
GOON SQUAD
BY
Jennifer Egan2 0 1 1
the song will end. And then the song isn’t really
over, so you’re relieved. But then the song does
actually end, because every song ends, obviously,
and THAT. TIME. THE. END. IS. FOR. REAL.” –
Sasha’s son
Did you know? The same week Egan won
this year’s Pulitzer Prize, it was confirmed that the
novel is currently being made into a series by
HBO. WE. CAN. NOT. WAIT.
CORSAIR, £7.99, KINDLE £4.04
A
W R I T T E N B Y
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C O M M I S S I O N I N G E D I T O R
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E D I T O R
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