summer reads: zab's picks

Freedom is near! The fresh, warm breezes of summer are starting to reawaken the world, and you can feel the sunshine energising your body and mind. Summer is a time for growth and relaxation and happiness, if you can afford it! Though many of us still have work, school or other obligations to occupy our summers, there is always some precious time to sit outside in the sun with some iced tea and a good book. Because this season has, since childhood, been the time for imagination and play, it is the perfect time for adult-you to relax and allow your mind to indulge in some good old stories.

In this post, I highlight my all-time favourite novels to enjoy during any season - but if you can, I highly encourage you to pick up one or all for summer reads! Just sneaking in a few minutes of reading here and there is an ENORMOUS stress reliever. Escaping into a fictional world has always been one of our favourite ways of dealing with the troubles of real life! These picks vary from timeless classics to modern French erotica (ooh la la!), so there will be plenty to spark your interest. Most of these novels are relatively light and passionate on the surface but reveal deep lessons about humankind underneath.They will supplant your summer with not only relaxation but learning. Enjoy!

My favourites (in no particular order because they are all equally fantastic):

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I would say that Lolita is the most inappropriate influential novel ever written. Nabokov's novel tells the story of little Lolita, a tantalising, fascinating pre-teen dripping with sexual equivoque who draws in the helpless and much older Humbert Humbert. This book has become not only a classic but has defined an aspect of society that pretty much all others have deemed untouchable and not-understandable. I think that Lolita is the most intriguing character ever created, and Humbert Humbert's doomed obsession tells us a lot about humanity.

2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Truly a novel for summer, this lengthy but captivating work is filled with adventure, scandal, love, and grief. It is set in beautiful France and Mediterranean islands after the exile of Napoleon, and follows the life of Edmond Dantes, a young, sincere, and successful sailor whose life is plagued by jealousy and revenge. He is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires an incredible fortune, and sets about getting revenge for those who harmed him in the past. Dantes' life is full of astonishing twists, passion, danger, and sadness. This book is considered a classic and a masterpiece for a reason, and is surprisingly easy to read considering it was written in the 1840s.

3. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence. Initially forbidden in many countries when it was published in 1928, this is one of the most classic novels of feminine awakening and independence. An upper-class British woman shakes away the shackles of society and searches for wholeness, particularly the cohesion of her mind and body. She becomes involved in a sexual relationship with a lower-class man, with whom she experiences true emotion and self-awareness.

4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin. The perfect summer read, for women in particular. Like Lady Chatterly's Lover, this short novel explores the process of self-realization of a bored, wealthy housewife and was likewise banned for some time. This novel is set on a resort island just beyond New Orleans, and describes the luxuriant but empty lifestyle of a woman who should want nothing. She seeks fulfillment through society liaisons, charming young men, and music but only slowly makes her way towards feminine independence.

5. Monsieur by Emma Becker. This book was written only a few years ago by a young Parisian woman. It vividly details the relationship between the author and an older surgeon/family friend. I love this book because of its honest sexuality and emotion, and Ms. Becker's heart-wrenching, relatable obsession with an man she can never be with. You can read my complete review of this novel here.

6. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. If you have not already read this book, do so immediately. Set in the stark Prague Spring, this story explores the fragility and strength of love. Tomas, an intelligent, successful, and attractive womaniser sleeps with many women but loves only his wife, the reserved and beautiful photographer Tereza. The story follows the interactions and development between Tomas, Tereza, and Sabina, Tomas' free-spirited lover. It explores the 'lightness' of life, the idea that each person has only one life to live, and that time is irreplaceably precious.

7. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Truly a modern masterpiece. This is a very difficult and emotional book, but it is also a necessary read. This novel follows the intertwined lives of two women living in Afghanistan as they face incredible pain, hardship, and love. Hosseini's writing abilities and depiction of humankind blows me away.

8. Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Another perfect summer novel. This work of art describes the 227 days spent by a young Indian boy lost in the Pacific Ocean with only an adult tiger for company. Terrifying, exhilarating, and touching, this story is beautifully told and focuses on humankind's place in the animal kingdom, how we are similar to and different from the animals.

9. Island by Aldous Huxley. Quite different from his most famous novel, Brave New World, this is the story of a journalist who is shipwrecked on the Pacific island of Pala and finds a clandestine perfect society. The people there indulge in leisure and contemplation, and everyone belongs to each other in a seamless, happy society. This book was actually written as the utopian alternative to Brave New World and its themes of relaxation, self-understanding, and learning are perfect for summertime.

10. Lord of the Flies by William Golding. You might be sensing a common thread here: the ocean, shipwreck, and developing an understanding humanity. This very short novel is the ultimate combination of these elements. A group of English schoolboys are stranded on an uninhabited island with no adult supervision and must form their own self-government, with disastrous results. This story delves deeply into the human psyche, in particular the battle between solidarity and selfishness. These abandoned boys confirm Jean-Jacques Rousseau's theory that 'uncorrupted morals' will prevail when humans are in their natural, ungoverned state.

We highly recommend all of these novels - they include some of our very favourites. Pick out one, two, or all to fill the extra hours of your summer with some relaxation, contemplation, and adventure!

read this book instead of 50 shades of grey: monsieur by emma becker

Eli discovered this seemingly little-known erotic novel a few months ago, and it has quickly become one of our all-time favourites. Published in France just last year by 22-year-old Emma Becker, this extremely personal autobiography has attracted little attention but deserves the reputation that 50 Shades of Grey unjustifiably earned in recent years. Not only is Miss Becker’s novel very well-written, it describes the profound sexual and emotional obsession with men that almost every young woman has gone through. We girls have all wanted someone we couldn’t have, or become involved with someone who doesn’t love us in the same way that we love them. Emma’s doomed story of passion is relatable, fascinating, and brought me to tears.

Essentially, ‘Ellie’ (Emma’s alias in the novel) becomes sexually involved with a renowned, married surgeon much older than herself after discovering a common interest in erotic literature. Ellie becomes obsessed with this man (who she never names in the book, referring to him only as Monsieur). She describes him as a drug: she spends every minute without him quivering in anticipation of their next meeting. She lives only for the simplest communication with him, even just a short text message. The rest of Ellie’s life is a pretense that will disappear and show its emptiness as soon as her mobile lights up with his name. Monsieur becomes her only reality.

‘And then Monsieur, whom I hate… magically brings me to life, blowing on the ashes of my phoenix, his velvet tones, tender and amusing, simply saying, “Good morning, Miss Becker.”’

Many women have been in a relationship similar to Ellie’s, though perhaps one not quite as drastic or taboo! Many of us have experienced that attraction, even obsession, where our world seems to revolve around another person who has absolutely no idea how involved we are. This kind of relationship advances from hatred of that person (for being oblivious), to utter addiction, to self-hatred, to depression. This is a story that cannot have a happy ending.

However, I whole-heartedly recommend this book! Not only is Monsieur extremely sexually explicit, which is always a bit of fun, but it puts together the very best of my favourite erotic novels. This story is basically the creation of Catherine Millet from Lolita. Monsieur takes The Sexual Life of Catherine M. and puts you, a modern college student, in Catherine’s place. Ellie takes you through the intimate thoughts and emotions of moving from being merely ‘sexually active’ to becoming a deeply sexual being, finding yourself in the depths of filth and sodomy, and loving it, finding it beautiful beyond expression. Monsieur describes a side of women that is almost always hidden away, that little Lolita in us that truly wants to be defiled.

Not only this, but I absolutely fell in love with Emma (Ellie) Becker. I loved her eloquence (which is beyond her age), her bravery (or perhaps stupidity), and her fragility. I was vicariously able to live the life of this daring, unashamed, doomed girl through Monsieur.

‘Sex in his arms is a playground in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is forbidden… it’s like being drunk, the sense of release so deep that I can’t find words to express it.’


You can find Monsieur at bookstores like Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com for less than $10. We highly recommend picking it up!