Perhaps the most buzzed-about novel of summer 2020, Bennet’s
tale follows twins Desiree and Stella who run away from their Deep
South town aged 16. One lives life passing as a White person, the
other returns home with her Black daughter. Told across
generations, the book’s messages on identity and the destructive
impact of racism couldn’t be more timely.

Right now, we’re feeling a pretty strong affinity with My Year
of Rest and Relaxation, Moshfegh’s 2018 bestselling depiction of
self-loathing and solitude. Her latest fiction follows the chilling
story of a lonely, 72-year-old widow determined to solve a murder
mystery.

Been doing a lot of scrolling lately? So has journalist and new
mum Elisabeth, the protagonist of Friends and Strangers, who has
moved from New York City to small-town America – that is until she meets babysitter
Sam. Exploring the dynamics of power, privilege and motherhood,
this book shows that a single year can alter the course of a life.
How apt.

What is our best life? What if we get it wrong? Covering topics
such as email culture, fast fashion and the cult of “authenticity”, The
High Low host’s essays explore the anxieties and agendas that
consume our modern lives, and interrogate the stories we tell
ourselves.

Sex. Psychedelia. Drugs. Stardom. Ego. If you loved 2019-favourite Daisy Jones and the Six, then
you’ll probably like this 600-page tome too. Cloud Atlas remains
one of our favourite reads, so we’re eager to dip our toes into
Mitchell’s literary multiverse once again, as he charts the rise
and fall of British rock band Utopia Avenue. Note: Bowie makes a
cameo.

A rising star of the silver screen and a magazine publisher host
their glitzy wedding on a remote island off the Irish coast. A storm hits. Someone washes up
dead, as does a slurry of secrets and resentments. Think of this
whodunnit as the 21st-century equivalent of Agatha Christie. If you
get boisterous over Cluedo, you’ll tear through the pages of this
one.

After her mother’s unexpected death, Maggie finds five letters
in her will, each addressed to mysterious men and – you guessed it
– she sets off on a road trip to hand-deliver them. Described as a
“queer tour-de-force” and ranked among 2020’s best LGBTQ+ books, Masad’s literary debut is one that
makes us question the nature of fulfilling relationships.

A terrorist attack on a train in India unites three otherwise disparate characters: a
Muslim girl from the slums of Bengal, a right-wing gym teacher and
a trans woman who aspires to be an actress. It’s at once an
explosive story and a meditation on a rigged society in which the
oppressed are often forced to compromise their values to
survive.

When Moore was five years old, her family was forced to flee
civil war in Liberia by being smuggled to Sierra Leone. Now settled in Texas, she has penned a memoir that reflects on
surviving displacement while painting an honest portrait of the
Black immigrant experience in the American South. For more on the
immigrant diaspora, try Brown Album by Porochista Khakpour.

Van den Berg’s collection of 11 short stories are unsettling
narratives that chip away at the suffocating veneer of 21st-century
womanhood. Expect to meet an actress who impersonates dead wives
for widowed husbands and a man who silences his politically
frustrated partner by drugging her artisanal water.

Many of us took up projects during lockdown; Zadie Smith penned
this collection of six essays. She writes: “There will be many
books written about the year 2020: historical, analytic, political
and comprehensive accounts. This is not any of those.” Instead,
it’s a short, intimate read that feels like a gesture of connection
in these unprecedented times.

The title tells us so much and yet so little about this
coming-of-age story set in southeastern Nigeria. The tale begins with a mother opening a front
door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colourful fabric, at
her feet. What unravels is a dramatic story of friendship, loss and
queer identity. Like this? Try You Exist Too Much by Zaina
Arafat.

In 2018, Acevedo won a National Book Award for her YA novel
written in poetic verse. Inspired by true events, her latest work
is the dual narrative of two sisters who, in the wake of a tragic
plane crash, discover roots they never knew they had.

We couldn’t resist this OTT, gossip-riddled, East-meets-West
story from the author behind Crazy Rich Asians. A modern spin on
the age-old narrative that pits love against class, it whisks
readers between the Hamptons and Capri as it follows
Chinese-American Lucie who gets tangled in a love triangle between
Hong Kong surfer George and billionaire
Cecil.

Ever pondered how Hilary Clinton’s life might have panned out
had she turned down Bill’s (many) marriage proposals? Enter Rodham,
an experimental page-turner that weaves fact and fantasy to imagine
an alternative future. If American politics is your jam, try Molly Ball’s
Pelosi too.

We recommend picking up this funny yet heartfelt book if you’ve
recently found it all too easy to feel cut off from your pals.
(Ahem, who hasn’t?) Through the lens of Aminatou and Ann’s own,
complex, decade-long friendship, it sheds light on what it takes to
make friends for the long haul and argues that having a strong gang
is the key to happiness. Here, here.

Disease? Check. Quarantine? Check. If you thought that Donoghue
– the author behind bestseller-turned-blockbuster Room – set this
novel in the last month, we wouldn’t fault you. Instead, it spirits
readers to a maternity ward in Dublin in the early 20th century, where three
healthcare workers risk everything to battle the 1918 flu
pandemic.

The fourth and final book in Smith’s seasonal,
state-of-the-national quartet has long been anticipated (and no,
not just because of those gorgeous Hockney-print covers). Writing
up to the wire, Smith’s resonant narrative reflects on current
issues – COVID anxiety, Brexit, climate despair – through the lens
of a Brighton-based family.

Fans of Donna Tartt, this is for you. Sixteen-year-old Olivia’s
search for her missing father leads her to an offbeat enlightenment
retreat in the mountains where leaders claim
that they can teach people to fly. As you might have guessed,
things take a sinister turn

In suburban Los Angeles, a pregnant, 18-year-old pizza
delivery girl becomes obsessed with a 30-something stay-at-home
mother who orders pizzas covered in pickles for her son every week.
When the two form an unlikely bond, their friendship teeters into
strange, heartbreaking territory.

Open relationships, racial dynamics and class form the backbone
of Leilani’s darkly humorous yet insightful debut novel. Aspiring
artist Edie loses her job and moves in with the married man she’s
been sleeping with… and his family.

Summer reading isn’t all about escapism. Subtitled “Stories of
Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World”, this anthology
helps us wrap our heads around the enormity of the climate crisis
and exposes how it hits vulnerable communities the hardest.
Writings are drawn from a diverse crowd including Haitian-American
novelist Edwidge Danticat, Anuradha Roy in the Himalayas and
Margaret Atwood, who pens a dystopian poem.

If you’re keen to continue your self-education on racism and the Black
experience, add this book by Princeton’s chair of the
Department of African American Studies to your must-read list. It
draws parallels between racial tensions in the US today and in the
years following the civil rights movement of the late 60s, while
encouraging readers to “reimagine hope”.

If you’re enamoured with Sally Rooney’s writing (and not just
Connell’s chain), then you should pick up Dolan’s dryly funny and
politically astute book. In Hong Kong, Dublin-born Ava is wooed by banker Julian and
enthralled with lawyer Edith. Through their relationships, Dolan
dissects how modern love interplays with privilege, power and
self-searching.

Inspired by the women who raised her, Ford wrote Crooked
Hallelujah to celebrate the resilience of indigenous communities.
Set in Oklahoma, it follows four generations of Cherokee women
across four decades as they persevere in the face of poverty,
wildfires, oil spills and violence.

It’s 1957 – post-war Britain – and pushing-40 feature writer Jean Swinney is
tasked with investigating Gretchen Tilbury, a young Swiss woman who
claims her daughter is the product of a virgin birth. It’s a
bittersweet tale, but one that shows happiness can be found in the
most unexpected places.