What we're reading: our favourite holiday reads!
This week, some of our wonderful staff are sharing the books they enjoyed on their holidays.
Lian loved The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Kaliane Bradley's debut novel The Ministry of Time is one of the (many) bestsellers from 2024 that passed me by, but over my holidays I picked up a copy on a whim, and now I understand why it's been such a blockbuster. Part sci-fi, part romance, part environmental dystopia, part thriller, this genre-defying novel is set in near-future London where a mysterious governmental agency is testing the limits of time travel by bringing a handful of people – 'ex-pats' – from the past into the modern age.
The Ministry of Time touches on some good, meaty issues including racism, sexism, colonialism, and the climate crisis, but never in a heavy-handed way, or at the expense of the rollicking adventure plot-line. It's perfect for fans of Jasper Fforde, Susanna Clarke, or Matt Haig and there's a BBC adaptation in the works so you should probably get in early and read it first.
Baz loved Erasure by Percival Everett
Erasure exceeded my expectations. Yes it’s a sharp, clever, confident satire, but it’s also not a satire. I had my ideas, going in, about Erasure operating as commentary, and it does: Everett, funny but angry, ridicules the publishing industry and reading culture in America. But to categorize it as satire and think of it that way would be oversimplification. It’s an inward-facing character-driven novel as much as it’s an outward-facing work of social commentary. It’s a layered thing of multiple working parts, consisting of many textures and elements that coalesce into a cool, polished novel that, for me, was more tender and affecting than anything.
Angela loved Darkly by Marisha Pessl
This is an exciting thriller with an interesting premise that hooked me in immediately. Quirky teenager Dia is obsessed with the interactive board games by enigmatic game designer, Louisiana Veda, so when she sees an ad for an internship at the now deceased game designer's private island, she jumps at the chance. But when she somehow wins a coveted position and turns up at the island with an unlikely group of teens chosen from all over the world, she realises this is not an internship but something much more deadly. They must play the game and risk their lives in order to find a teenager who disappeared whilst playing the game. With plenty of red herrings and strange occurrences, I was turning the pages as fast as I could until the very end. I highly recommend this for anyone ages 12+ who loves thrillers or gaming. I am now keen to read anything else I can get my hands on by this author.
Bella loved Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Despite being excited to read the incredible Ann Patchett's latest novel, I decided to save Tom Lake for summer, and am so glad I did. It's perfect reading for long, hot days, moving between a hopeful summer spent on the shores of Lake Michigan and an equally fraught and peaceful cherry picking season in the peak of the covid pandemic.
The book follows Lara, whose three adult daughters are taking refuge with their parents on the family cherry farm, while the global pandemic adds to their already pressing fears for the future. To distract and entertain them all through long days picking cherries, Lara tells her daughters about her short-lived acting career and the boy she fell in love with who went on to be a movie star. It's a compelling story, sweet and sad, joyful and tragic, and I cannot recommend it heartily enough! (And to further sweeten the pot, the audiobook is read by Meryl Streep, who unsurprisingly does an incredible job with it.)
