Sing to the beat of your mum's literary heart this Mother's Day by gifting her a book she won't be able to put down
From the beach reads to the best modern literary releases.
Charlotte Higgins' retelling of iconic Greek Myths puts the stories of women narrators and characters into the spotlight. The novel reads like a collection of stories your mum can dip in and out of with its intriguing structural device woven between them that will likely halt her from putting it down.
Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins, down to $34.95, Book Depositary.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a deeply heartbreaking but stunning literary debut from poet Ocean Vuong. The coming-of-age novel reads as a letter from Little Dog, in his late 20s, to his mother, who cannot read. It unearths a family history that predates his birth and tells the story of his family's life in Vietnam to America, during and after the war.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, down to $17.52, Book Depositary.
If you've seen your mum read a copy of Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, then finish off her Taylor Jenkins collection with Malibu Rising. The intoxicating read takes place in sun-soaked 1980s Malibu and follows a family drama with so many twists your mum's jaw will permanently drop.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, on sale at $34.37, Book Depositary.
The famous author of The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir's lost book, has finally received its English translation. The compulsive story about two female friends growing up and falling apart gloriously depicts a tale so intrinsically connected to women's experiences.
The Inseparables by Simone de Beauvoir, $24.87, Book Depositary.
Elena Ferrante places this book in her list of Top 40 Books by Female Authors for its notable depiction of three women trying to determine their lives in modern-day Tokyo. Thirty-year-old Natsuko is single but years for a child, while her older sister Makiko is an ageing hostess trying to hold onto her youthful features, and her daughter Modoriko is entering womanhood. Its author Mieko Kawakami dissects the conflicts and pain with beguiling nuance.
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, $22.11, Book Depositary.
This debut novel by Coco Mellors is a funny and evocative debut about the repercussions of one couple's impulsive marriage. The book is likened to Modern Lovers and Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, $38.67, Book Depositary.
The iconic author Zadie Smith won the Women's Prize for Fiction for this literary piece about love and family. The novel follows two feuding families, The Belseys and The Kipps and their confusions, affairs, and histories.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith, $21.50, Book Depositary.
In Tokyo, a small café has served coffee for a hundred years. However, it's no ordinary establishment – customers can travel back in time, but they must obey four rules, or they may lose themselves forever. The novel adapted from plays introduces its reader to four visitors, each hoping to re-do the past.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, down to $15.73, Book Depositary.