The best short books to take on your summer holiday, all less than 200 pages long
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You know the feeling: your suitcase is packed, your out-of-office is on and you're ready for a week of baking sun. Then comes the all-important question: which book should you take?
Ideally, you want something short enough to finish before you land by the pool, but gripping enough to cast aside any haziness from last night's cocktails. Enter the under-200-page wonder: books that are slim in size but pack a punch.
Whether you're after sharp satire, lyrical love stories, or gothic gore, these small-but-mighty reads will slip right into your beach bag. Even better? They'll mean no excess baggage charges, even if you're flying budget.
The best short books to take on holiday
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
This quirky, wry story follows Keiko, a Japanese convenience store worker who's never fit in anywhere before. But despite her contentment in the role, Keiko's social circle can't understand why an unmarried woman is spending her time stacking shelves. As pressure mounts for her to find a new job, or worse, a husband, she's forced to take drastic action…
178 pages
£9.99 Shop
McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh
She may be most famous for her shocking and hilarious book My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but Moshfegh's first release, the novella McGlue, is every bit as strange and gripping. Set in 1851 Salem, McGlue is in custody after allegedly killing his best friend in a drunken rage. He's remorseless, however, despite the foggy recollections of the incident in question.
128 pages
£8.99 Shop
West by Carys Davies
When Cy Bellman, American settler and widowed father of Bess, reads in the newspaper that huge ancient bones have been discovered in a Kentucky swamp, he leaves his small Pennsylvania farm and young daughter to find out if the rumours are true: that the giant monsters are still alive, and roam the uncharted wilderness beyond the Mississippi River. This novella is crisp, poignant and atmospheric, perfect for those who loved Where the Crawdads Sing.
160 pages
£9.99 Shop
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
Henri has a passion for Napoleon – but Napoleon has a passion for chicken. As the soldier and emperor butcher their way across Europe, glory falls to ruin and love to hate. But, when Henri encounters the red-haired, web-footed Villanelle, he discovers in her an equal. Together, they abandon their pasts and flee to the Venetian canals to meet their singular destiny...
176 pages
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Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Immortalised by Audrey Hepburn's iconic performance in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a dazzling portrait of 1940s New York. It follows socialite Holly Golightly, a social climber and stunning heartbreaker, her questionable relationships and her search for a place she belongs.
160 pages
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Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain
This stunning novella tells the piercing love story between 15-year-old Marianne Clifford and 18-year-old Simon Hurst, destined to go far as a clever, beautiful and privileged teen. But fate intervenes. Simon's plans are blown off course, and Marianne is forced to bury her dreams of a future together.
192 pages
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Foster by Claire Keegan
Booker-shortlisted author Claire Keegan's novella tells the story of a girl sent to live with a foster family on a sweltering Irish farm. There, she finds affection she's not known before and begins to blossom – until a secret threatens her fragile new happiness.
96 pages
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So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
This evocative masterpiece by one of America's greatest novelists tells the story of two Illinois farmers who share too much until finally, jealousy leads to murder and suicide. A tenuous friendship between lonely teenagers - the narrator, whose mother has died young, and Cletus Smith, the troubled witness to his parents' misery - is shattered. The boys never speak again, and only fifty years on can the narrator attempt a reconstruction of those devastating events.
176 pages
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This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill
This nuanced take on #MeToo, power and consent is told from two perspectives. The first is Quin, a male publisher undone by allegations of sexual impropriety; the second his loyal friend Margot, trying to understand and explain his actions. It's an unflinching look at the moral complexities of the 21st-century world, and perfect for anyone after a thought-provoking read.
96 pages
£6.99 Shop
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
This cult favourite gothic novella follows Merricat and her sister Constance, who live in isolation after most of their family died of arsenic poisoning. When cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect her remaining family.
176 pages
£9.99 Shop
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