Around the World in 8 Smart Summer Beach Reads

Get ready to fill up your Kindle or your carry-on. Our editors and contributors recommend eight irresistible page-turners…with an Undomesticated twist: Expect strong women, international settings, and ideas to chew on.

INDIA

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

If you loved Alka Joshi’s New York Times’ bestselling novel The Henna Artist half as much as I did, you’ll adore her follow-up, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, which comes out June 22. Set in 1969 between the mountain town of Shimla and bustling Jaipur, the novel drops us back into the lives of Lakshmi and her protégé Malik, who is now a highly-educated business apprentice torn between his new life hobnobbing with the elite and his love for Nimmi, a poor widow from a hill tribe. We’re introduced to new characters along with many familiar allies and villains – like swoon-worthy Dr. Jay Kumar and the dashing but self-serving Samir Singh. Like The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is a page-turner that you can somehow still slowly luxuriate in. In between the political intrigue and complicated relationships, Joshi subtly explores the lingering effects of colonialism, the tension between modernity and tradition, and the constraints of class. —Tiffany Hawk

URUGUAY

Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis

Cantoras is perfect for the beach! It’s impossible not to fall in love with these fierce “Girlwomen”—queer, courageous and adventurous—as they find freedom in their relationships with each other while living under a ruthless dictatorship in Uruguay. —Angie Cruz

(From the Undomesticated Eds: In other news, the Spanish translation of Angie Cruz’s award-winning novel Dominicana comes out in June. Check it out, in either language, because the story of Ana, a 15-year-old Dominican bride, fighting for autonomy in 1960s New York is itself a heck of a beach read.)

NIGERIA

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Every thriller I have ever read is a doorstop, weighing in between 400-500 pages. On any vacation, I tear through them without a single thought, and then pretty much forget all about their characters forever and ever. Weighing in at about half that, My Sister the Serial Killer is exactly the opposite of any thriller I’ve encountered before. Ayoola is an absolute hot mess of the perfect little sister-—when the novel opens, she’s in the middle of talking her older sister, Korede, into coming over to clean up her latest murder. Wait, what? Is exactly what I said to myself, and then devoured the book, eagerly but slowly, not wanting to deprive myself of a single moment of anticipation or risk missing the littlest development. When Korede begins to sense that the man she loves is at risk of falling prey to Ayoola’s charm, things get really interesting. —Yi Shun Lai

NICARAGUA

Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the Sandinistas by Deb Olin Unferth

Deb Olin Unferth's memoir ticks a lot of the beach read boxes for me. The author's darkly funny take on her "misspent youth" makes for the sort of travel story that I devour but definitely don't feel tempted to recreate. In her memoir, Unferth recalls the idealistic young love that led her to move to Nicaragua with her boyfriend in 1987 in hopes of joining the revolution. At eighteen, with little more than unfinished college educations and idealism to offer, the two bumble through dusty cities, unable to make a meaningful contribution to the cause. When they run out of money, they return home and part ways. Unferth gets on with her life until 2000, when she's trying to make a go of it as a writer while stuck in a bad romance. "I tried to think of a time when I felt at home in the world, and I came up with nothing. Then I remembered Nicaragua." she writes. So she goes back–not once, but several times–to make sense of what happened there, and what happened to the idealistic young woman she'd been. —Lindsey Danis

ITALY

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

Internationally recognized for her four-book series of Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante gifted the world a new book amid the 2020 pandemic. The Lying Life of Adults transports readers once again to Italy where we meet compelling and complex characters and explores the vagaries of ugliness and beauty, be it in someone's appearance or in the unkind and dishonest relationship between characters. Through Giovanna’s coming of age and one family's drama and secrets, this fast-paced book lets us experience the tension between the ostracized and poorly-educated communities and the liberal well-educated elite. This new novel by one of the world’s best-read novelists is a great vacation read. —Ava Homa, author of The Daughters of Smoke and Fire (just released in paperback)

FRANCE

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant

After spending her last few years working her way up at a 2-Michelin star restaurant in New York City, Sophie is closer than ever to earning the recognition she craves and opening the restaurant she’s long dreamed of. But as she and the crew are getting ready to take the third star, Sophie’s ex-boyfriend is busy plotting to sabotage her career. Sophie is fired and her reputation is destroyed. On top of it all, she receives news that her beloved grandmother, who taught Sophie how to cook, has fallen ill back home. Sophie decides to fly to the South of France to spend time with her ailing grandmother. It is in the kitchen of her grandmother’s restaurant that Sophie finally discovers her true self and rekindles her passion for food. Think “Kitchen Confidential” meets “Emily in Paris”. But instead of designer fashion, Sophie brings us delectable French dishes. Instead of Paris, Sophie takes us to the South of France. And Sophie’s journey is about much more than sybaritic pleasures. Her story is one of self discovery, family, and love. —Carmen Suen

UNITED KINGDOM

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that provides the perfect dose of sex appeal, murder and courtroom drama, pick up Louise Doughty’s bestselling novel, Apple Tree Yard. English protagonist, Dr. Yvonne Carmichael, is a sensible middle-aged scientist who leads a conventional, married life until she unexpectedly finds herself the object of desire of a charming stranger. With one small misstep, Carmichael abruptly derails her predictable life. But this 560-page page turner is about more than just a lurid affair in London’s back alleys. The novel takes an unexpected twist and ushers in a thought-provoking look at self-image, secrets, and justice when the violent deed of an acquaintance sets into movement a series of irreversible acts. —Sara Wilson

SINGAPORE

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

Move over, Bridget Jones. There’s a new heroine in town. Andrea Tang is a young successful lawyer in Singapore and has everything she’s ever dreamed of. It’s too bad her family has other thoughts. Andrea is single and that just doesn’t sit well with them. Enter the dashing Suresh, her coworker in the firm, and Eric Deng, an earthy entrepreneur who sweeps her off her feet. Which man will win Andrea’s heart in the end or will she be happy staying single? Written in journal format a la The Diary of Bridget Jones, Lauren Ho’s novel has been described as a “beach bimbo read,” but at Undomesticated we appreciate the Singapore setting and the way Ho weaves anti-racism into her story. It’s worthy of a beach read, yet we will pass on rhetoric that aims to bring down women. —Susan Blumberg-Kason

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