A sun lounger, the sound of the sea and birds, the sweet smell of flowers... and of course, a lovely selection of books. Long live the holidays! The Do It team has put together a selection of its true favorites of the year to slip into your suitcase without hesitation. Our recommendation: a first autobiographical narrative mixing mother/daughter relationship and Korean cuisine, a posthumous novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the latest impactful novel by Deborah Levy, an extraordinary tale by Jean-Paul Dubois… Follow the guide!
A Poignant Novel Under the Spanish Sun
The Book: Hot Milk by Deborah Levy.
For Whom? Fans of Deborah Levy looking for an introspective novel amidst the Spanish heat.
The Plot. Under the scorching sun of Andalusia, Sofia, a 25-year-old anthropologist, decides to settle down. Her mother, Rose, suffers from a bone disease and joins a somewhat controversial but highly sought-after clinic in the region. When Sofia meets Ingrid Bauer, a wild and wildly uncertain woman, repressed and unfulfilled desires resurface. This encounter will make her confront her long-neglected quest for identity and will affect the relationship between mother and daughter.
Will the hope of healing lead to the individual freedom that both women seek so much? Through this subtle and sensory narrative, Deborah Levy unravels the complex relationship between a mother and her daughter and offers an exploration of their internal struggles. She beautifully captures the boldness with which the two women embrace life in their own ways.
Why You’ll Love It. Although the original version of the novel was released in 2016, it took nearly eight years for the French public to discover Céline Leroy’s wonderful translation, who had translated Levy’s autobiographical trilogy (Things I Don't Want to Know, The Cost of Living, and Real Estate). Deborah Levy has a knack for describing the emotions within human relationships. Her narratives are as sensitive as they are poetic, with characters depicted with great precision. With Hot Milk, Deborah Levy delivers a remarkable novel full of ambiguity and humor, closely resembling a dreamlike tale. The atmosphere is unsettling, the characters are quirky, and it’s hard to put down before fully experiencing all its nuances.
A Gentle Culinary Journey in Korea
The Book: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.
For Whom? Lovers of autobiographies, looking for a beautifully unique narrative.
The Plot. "Save your tears for when your mother is dead." The story opens with Michelle crying in the aisles of H-Mart, searching for the Korean flavors that marked her childhood. Her mother, her Asian anchor, has just died, leaving her feeling lost. Michelle is an only child and, like many daughters, has ambivalent feelings towards her mother. They are very close, especially when they are in the kitchen or around a table filled with Korean dishes. But Michelle finds her mother harsh and lacking empathy towards her.
When her mother falls ill, Michelle leaves everything to care for her and help her fight against the devastating cancer. This period becomes an opportunity to make up for lost time, learn essential things, and discover that her mother has her secrets. "We are what we eat," Michelle Zauner seems to whisper through these pages, and it is through food that the two women continue to get to know each other. Brilliant!
Why You’ll Love It. If the cover does not make the book, this novel is a subtle example. If you’re looking for a feel-good and easy read, you might want to look elsewhere. Michelle Zauner delivers a poignant autobiographical narrative. She tackles grief and the parent-child relationship in a striking manner, telling of the passing of time and how it sometimes strains relationships, all with great tenderness. Sixty weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, a member of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2022... The numbers speak for themselves, and yet it’s hard to find the right words for such a narrative.
The Burlesque Confessions of a Man to His Psychiatrist
The Book: The Origin of Tears by Jean-Paul Dubois.
For Whom? Admirers of Jean-Paul Dubois' talent looking to discover him in a different light.
The Plot. Paul has committed the unthinkable: he killed his father. Only, when he decided to do the deed, Thomas Lanski was already dead... from natural causes. Indeed, to avenge his toxic and sadistic father, Paul shot him twice while his body was already in the morgue. What follows is a year of necessary psychiatric care to untangle the story and better understand his action.
Within these pages is the testimony of this wounded man. Years of repressed anger, stifled sobs, and suffering caused by his father—the origin of his tears—that Paul confides to his psychiatrist. Through his words, a father emerges, or rather, what the world has in its ugliest form. Burlesque drama or dark comedy, the choice is left to the reader on how they wish to view this unparalleled work.
Why You’ll Love It. Humor and melancholy intertwine, as often with Jean-Paul Dubois, known for A French Life and All Men Are Mortal, which won him the Prix Goncourt. Here, he accurately addresses the lessons of hate and revenge when a life is too full of suffering, making this his darkest novel. All this with a futuristic France with a completely disrupted climate as a backdrop, where it rains incessantly, marking his first foray into speculative fiction.
An Erotic Story Under the Caribbean Sun
The Book: We'll Meet in August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
For Whom? Nostalgic fans of one of the most talented Colombian authors of his time.
The Plot. Ana Magdalena Bach is a creature of habit: every August 16, she takes the ferry to visit her mother’s grave, a bouquet of gladioli, stays overnight at the Hotel del Senador, and then returns home. She is also the fulfilled mother of two children and the happy wife of a loving and supportive man. Her life changes at 46 when she meets a man, spends the night with him, and cheats on her husband Domenico for the first time. Far from displeasing her, this torrid night becomes a ritual during her trips to this Caribbean island.
Now, every summer, after visiting her mother, Ana Magdalena spends the night with a man. A vacationing bishop, a serial killer, a long-lost childhood friend… will this series of erotic adventures ever end? When she discovers the reason why her mother chose the Caribbean for her final journey, her entire life is thrown into question.
Why You’ll Love It. This very short novel is a posthumous unpublished work by Gabo, who died in 2014 and did not wish it to be published. The author had planned to write five stories featuring this same protagonist. His two sons decided otherwise, causing indignation among his fans. Yet, the Nobel Prize winner, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, continues to shine with his talent for telling beautiful stories. A great author of lost time, solitude, love, and desire, We'll Meet in August is no exception. Gabriel Garcia Marquez explores the emergence of desires and the awakening of intimate life, probing its feelings, both confusing and bittersweet.
The Legacy of the Land According to Marion Fayolle
The Book: Of the Same Wood by Marion Fayolle.
For Whom? Lovers of the French countryside, agriculture, and all the ancestral traditions that surround them.
The Plot. "Here, you live your whole life under the same roof, you’re born in the bed on the left, die in the one on the right, and in the meantime, you take care of the animals in the barn." Welcome to the Eyrieux Valley in Ardèche. Cows, chickens, rabbits, meadows, and trees as far as the eye can see—this is the world in which Marion grows up, between a cramped family home and the farm of "grandpa and grandma." She tells of intergenerational bonds, the heritage of these peasant traditions, the passing of time, and the encroaching modernity.
With Of the Same Wood, she writes an ode to rural life and a now bygone era, when farmers' lives revolved solely around the presence of animals. She straightforwardly addresses the anxieties and fears linked to the unpredictability of the Earth and the flaws inherited from ancestors, questioning this very notion of heredity.
Why You’ll Love It. Marion Fayolle, known for her drawings and comics, repeatedly awarded at the Angoulême festival, delivers her first novel here. From grandma to the young calf, through the little girl and the orphan, the author paints a family fresco so common yet timeless, of a farm whose story repeats generation after generation. With a simple, direct, and unembellished writing style
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