Summer Reads for Litha

Midsummer and reading go hand in hand for me. It’s the time where I allow myself to get lost in books the most (thanks to my day job as a teacher) and a time that I associate with so many nostalgic Summer reads, from the adventures of Milly-Molly-Mandy in her pink and white striped dress to Dick King-Smith’s animal mad Sophie and her great-aunt Al from Scotland. I loved putting together my seasonal reading recommendations in Spring and Winter so thought I’d share a bumper Summer edition today - with some new and old favourites - for the sunnier months too. Here are ten books set predominantly during Summer, that I hope you find diverting, some provoking, and certainly entertaining at this Litha time of year.

‘Bitter Orange’, Claire Fuller

‘Bitter Orange’ is told retrospectively with the bulk of the action taking place in the hazy, hot Summer of 1969 in a dilapidated country house, Lyntons. Isolated Frances is researching the gardens when she meets glamorous Cara and serious Peter, and an obsessive, intense relationship between the trio forms - with disastrous consequences. I love everything by Claire Fuller, and ‘Bitter Orange’ is perfect for this time of year.

‘Little Fires Everywhere’, Celeste Ng

At the start of the novel the reader learns what “everyone was talking about that Summer”: that Isabelle Richardson, “had finally gone round the bend and burnt the house down.” The story tells the unravelling of the perfect-seeming Richardson family when enigmatic artist Mia and her daughter Pearl arrive in suburban Shaker Heights. The book explores racism, motherhood, friendship and identity. Though the TV series of the same name is really good, the book is better in my opinion!

‘The Awakening’, Kate Chopin

Set in the American South one Summer at the end of the 19th Century, the novel explores protagonist Edna Pontellier’s ‘awakening’ to new, more progressive (then unorthodox) views on marriage, motherhood and femininity. I first read this seminal feminist novel in my final Summer term at University and it transports me straight back to my own feminist awakening and sunny days in St Andrews spent studying.

‘Atonement’, Ian McEwan

The hot Summer of 1935 is the backdrop to the growing love affair between Cecelia and Robbie, and their betrayal by Cecelia’s sister Bryony, for which she will spend the entire novel trying to atone. The book is even better than the iconic movie in my opinion - even with that green dress.

‘Sula’, Toni Morrison

The fierce bond between Sula and Nel is explored through their adolescent Summers, but when one adventure ends in tragedy, the two grow apart. Nel stays in their hometown and becomes a wife and mother while Sula lives independently, defying social conventions. This is a haunting story of friendship, morality, life and death. I adore Morrison’s writing and the way she evokes the intensity of friendship during those childhood Summers is particularly stirring.

‘Brideshead Revisited’, Evelyn Waugh

“If it could only be like this always - always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper…” Charles Ryder recounts the endless University Summer holiday of 1923 with his friend Lord Sebastian Flyte at his family mansion Brideshead Castle, his ensuing decline and the family conflicts that will span the decades. Another great film too, starring Matthew Goode as Charles.

‘Call Me By Your Name’, André Aciman

This is the story of adolescent Elio and his brief but intense affair with Oliver, one of the Summer guests at his parents’ house on the Italian Riviera. The restless Summer setting echoes the growing passion between the characters, and the novel explores the depths of obsession, possession, identity and intimacy. I read this as one of my pupils was writing on it for their Dissertation and I’m very glad they introduced this to me.

‘The Bell Jar’, Sylvia Plath

Plath’s feminist masterwork, ‘The Bell Jar’, tells of the growing anxiety, depression and eventual breakdown of English student Esther Greenwood. The stifling New York City Summer is the bristling backdrop to Esther’s attempts to explore and establish her own identity as she describes her life as being suffocated by a bell jar. Much criticism centres on the autobiographical elements of the novel, but please, if you haven’t already, read it in its own right.

‘The Great Gatsby’, F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have taught ‘The Great Gatsby’ to Higher English classes more times than I care to admit but never get bored of it: the young people and the beauty of Fitzgerald’s prose bring something new to the experience every time. The novel tells of the love affair between the eponymous Jay Gatsby and upper-class Daisy Buchanan in New York during in the fateful Summer of 1922. Still startlingly relevant on American culture and (somehow) still my favourite novel of all time.

‘Sunset’, Jessie Cave

‘Sunset’ is the debut adult novel by creative wonder Jessie Cave. The story explores sisterhood when disaster strikes. Beginning during one idyllic-seeming holiday the tragedy gradually unravels and we follow Ruth trying to piece her life back together and redefine joy when the worst thing possible happens. I can’t wait to read whatever’s next for Jessie Cave.

‘The Nature of Summer’, Jim Crumley

I thought I’d add a non-fiction book for those who are inclined as well. This is a gorgeous book from Crumley’s ‘Season’ quartet about the wildlife and landscapes of Scotland, as well as how climate change is affecting each season. ‘The Nature of Summer’ is thought-provoking and beautifully written, telling of Summers past and present.

What are your favourite Summer reads? Hit reply or leave them below in the comments!