Short novels are perfect for taking on holiday because you can pack several and, if you don’t enjoy one, it won’t be long until you’re on to the next. The best are slim, stylish and squeeze more soul and wit into a single passage than some doorstoppers conjure in hundreds of pages. Often they turn out to be bigger on the inside than they look from the outside. You could read the novels included on the list below, all of which come in at around 200 pages or fewer, in an afternoon. They might stay with you for ever.
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Lucy Barton’s story prompts you to reckon with your own experiences
The first in the American writer’s Lucy Barton series of novels is narrated by the eponymous protagonist from her hospital bed in New York. She tells of her impoverished upbringing, her abusive father and her fractious relationship with her mother, who comes to visit. Strout nails the particularities of one life with such precision that Barton’s story prompts you to reckon with your own experiences.
Penguin, £9.99
