A disclaimer before reading Norwegian Wood is the trigger warnings associated with the content, those of which are suicide and sensitive themes. Younger readers aren’t advised due to sensitive content.

Genre: Romance/Bildungsroman/Literary Fiction

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami follows the life of the protagonist Toru, a quiet and extraordinarily serious young college student in Tokyo who is devoted ultimately to Naoko who is a beautiful, self-contained woman. This devotion is ultimately marked by the tragic death of their best friend years ago, and while Toru adapts to the isolation felt in his campus life, Naoko begins to feel the pressures associated with life to be unbearable, retreating further into her own world. As she further separates herself from reality, Toru begins to reach out to other people and is drawn to a strongly independent and liberated young woman, Midori. This marks a nostalgic story of loss as we follow what can be classified as an ‘everyman’ character archetype through his life and the multiple parallels drawn between character relationships. 

Norwegian Wood is an insightful novel that acts as a commentary that one can work through difficult times if one persists in living. Of the multiple interpretations of the novel, the writing and the storytelling allow this book to be a good gateway to literary fiction and it’s a great book to get into over the summer.

Genre: Domestic fiction 

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan follows the lives of four mothers, four daughters and four families in which their histories shift through different perspectives, engaging the reader through the change in scenery that is all interconnected. Four Chinese women, who recently immigrated to San Francisco began a weekly meeting to play Mahjong in 1949 while telling stories of what they left behind in China. Through their connections built with hope for their daughter’s futures who initially believe the advice of their mothers in the Joy Luck Club is irrelevant, the loss and grief that is reflected in their own inner crises portray the unknown parallels that can be drawn to their own mother’s pasts. 

Amy Tan explores the deeper connection between generations as each woman reveals her secrets to unravel the truth behind her life, entwining the intergenerational knowledge passed down that ultimately tightens the knot between a mother and her daughter. The novel is a great read due to the representation it provides and Tan’s easy storytelling that makes the content formidable but engaging, so if you want a book to get into over the summer, this is the one! The different perspectives and the transition between times are handled beautifully and keep the reader exhilarated as the incorporation of history makes the books language have true meaning.

Genre: Science fiction/Speculative Fiction/Psychological Fiction

In Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, we are transported to the world of Hailsham, which on the outside seems like a pleasant English boarding school far from the influences of city life. With the students preened and trained in art and literature, they become the ideal form of what the world wants them to be. However, the isolation from the outside world and lack of contact are peculiar. On these grounds, Kathy progresses from a schoolgirl to a young woman, however, it’s only when she and her friends, Ruth and Tommy leave the walls of the campus do they understand the full truth of Hailsham’s purpose. 

Never Let Me Go goes beyond literary fiction to pursue a dystopia, while being a mystery, love story, critique of human arrogance and the moral examination of treatment of the vulnerable and different rolled into one. Through exploring themes of memory and the past, Ishiguro uses the possibilities of a future to formulate a book that is moving and powerful, and a great way to enter reading because of the gripping nature of the story’s progression. I would recommend this as a second or third book as opposed to your first given that the themes in the book are better read once you enter a flow state of reading.

Genre: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is set in the peaceful village of King’s Abbot when a shocking disruption in this tranquillity occurs as the widow Ferrars dies from a Veronal overdose. Not even 24 hours later, her fiancee, Roger Ackroyd is murdered. It is a case involving blackmail and death that taxes Hercule Poirot’s brain as he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his career, being Christie’s medium to write one of the most controversial and unconventional mysteries of her time. 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, due to its unique nature is an incredibly intriguing mystery because of the twist that comes after. If you feel like getting into a mystery book or just a novel that will keep you reading for hours straight, with the gripping nature of this mystery you are sure to not be disappointed. Bonus points if you decide to read this on a train or long transport because finishing a book in one sitting can really be all you need to enter a flow of reading as a hobby for a long time.