My book of all summers is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. If you like books which give you a window into another world, and where the characters become your best friends, try also Maximum Bob and Stick – glorious summer reads. I have been reading everything I can find by Leonard ever since. This one had me absolutely transfixed in a gîte in the Lot. I always take a stash of crime fiction and thrillers to read in bed at night on holiday as I’m not a big socialiser. Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard is so absorbing there is only one problem: you might get so absorbed in it that you forget where you are and then your expensive holiday is somewhat wasted. I’m looking forward to his follow-up The Year of the Locust, due in November. Hayes co-wrote Mad Max, but this is even better. Toby Youngįor pure escapism, I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes is hard to beat. Wilder’s quest is to discover whether there exists any divine plan.
A very short novel with the kind of perfection a geometrical proof may command, it starts with the death of a group of travellers crossing a Peruvian rope bridge who are linked only by the fact that they were on the bridge when it snapped, and traces the life of each up until that point. My all-time favourite re-read at any time of year is Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey. But which books deserve space in your suitcase? Here, Spectator writers share their all-time favourite summer holiday reads… Matthew Parris The flights are booked, the passports are dusted down and it’s time to pack.
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