Recommended Reads

A handful of Sarah’s favourite books

Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier

This was one of the first adult novels I read, and I’ll never forget I arriving at the twist – my teenage heart jumped, and then continued thumping at a furious rate until I finished the book several hours later. The suspense, the atmosphere, the expressive writing style - I’m hard pushed to think of a better storyteller than du Maurier; that’s her strength and it’s often underrated.

After You’d Gone, Maggie O’Farrell

I love how Maggie O’Farrell writes – her metaphors and descriptions are so lyrical, she’s like a poet – and the way she weaves different times, places and perspectives together to create a whole is impressive without being tiresomely literary. She also keeps you wanting to turn the pages. Reading her after I’d had my first novel published was an inspiration to me, and made me want to raise the bar for my own writing. My favourite is this, her first novel.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson

Like a large slice of cake on a cold winter’s day, this is an utterly delicious tale to be devoured in one sitting. When nanny Miss Pettigrew is sent to the wrong address by her employment agency, instead of a household of fractious children, she finds a glamorous young woman of slightly dubious morals. How she deals with pressing problems from cocaine in the bathroom to a jealous lover had me hooting with laughter.  

Enduring Love, Ian McEwan

The opening chapter describing a freak ballooning accident is arguably the best start to a novel in contemporary fiction; no one writes about arbitrary nightmares quite like McEwan and this psychological thriller about love and obsession is to my mind his best novel.  

Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

This autobiographical graphic novel gave me more insight into Iran and the Islamic Revolution than a dozen worthier tomes. The illustrations are a delight and it manages to be personal, political, funny and touching all at the same time.