Another Way To Travel This Summer!
The 4 shortlisted Summer Reads this year are:
“Three Days in June” by Anne Tyler (U.S.) follows Gail Baines, a socially awkward woman whose life unravels just as her daughter’s wedding approaches. Over the course of three days, Gail loses her job, unexpectedly reunites with her ex-husband Max, and faces a family crisis when troubling news surfaces about the groom-to-be. As wedding tensions mount, Gail is forced to confront unresolved feelings about love, marriage, and her own past. The novel blends humour, emotional insight, and sharp observations about family relationships and second chances.
“Theft” by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania) follows the intertwined lives of Karim, Fauzia, and Badar as they grow from adolescence into adulthood. Karim rises socially through education and government work, while Badar, an orphaned boy accused of theft, struggles against poverty and social exclusion. Fauzia, caught between family expectations and personal independence, becomes central to the emotional tensions of the novel. As relationships fracture through ambition, infidelity, and resentment, Gurnah examines how power, obligation, and emotional “theft” shape people’s lives.
“Sympathy Tower Tokyo” by Rie Qudan (Japan) is a near-future novel set in Tokyo where society believes criminals should be treated with empathy rather than punishment. The story follows an architect tasked with designing a luxurious rehabilitation prison, a project meant to symbolize this new social ideal. As she works, she begins to question the meaning of justice, compassion, and human connection in a world increasingly shaped by technology and artificial intelligence. Blending satire and speculative fiction, the novel explores how modern society uses language, morality, and innovation to redefine what it means to be human.
“The Distinctly Competent District Councillor” by Jonas Jonasson (Sweden) is a comedic and satirical novel about an ambitious district councillor determined to save her struggling Swedish town from economic decline. When a wealthy German businessman considers opening a factory in Sweden, she launches an increasingly eccentric campaign to attract him, transforming the town with German-themed initiatives and unconventional publicity stunts. Through its quirky characters and absurd situations, the novel humorously explores local politics, small-town survival, and the lengths people will go to in pursuit of progress and recognition.
Read them over the summer months, either taking them on holidays, or else allowing them to offer you an alternative way to travel the world through stories.
At the end of the summer, join Nicola and other readers to discuss the stories and their styles, and to vote for Best Summer Read 2026.
This 22nd edition of our Summer Reading Group will meet on Sunday 6th September 2026 from 15:00 to 17:15 in Brussels (location will be shared with participants closer to date).
Admission is free, but places are limited so reserve your seat in advance. Since we will meet in a public place, the purchase of something to drink and/or eat is, of course, expected.