Dua Lipa Recommendations
Klara And The Sun
Klara And The Sun
Kazuo IshiguroWhat We Say: Experience the brilliance of Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, known for Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, with Klara And The Sun. This novel ventures into the unknown territory of AI's impact on human connections, delving into the profound question of the true nature of love.
What They Say: ”A delicate, haunting story, steeped in sorrow and hope” –The Washington Post
Young Mungo
Young Mungo
Douglas StuartWhat We Say: The acclaimed follow-up to Service95 Book Club’s first Book of the Month, Shuggie Bain, Stuart’s second offering is a revisitation of his urban Glasgow origins. This time, through the lens of a queer romance story, shrouded in a landscape of violence and hypermasculinity. As gripping as ever, this is not to be missed.
What They Say: “Few novels are as gutsy and gut-wrenching as Young Mungo in its depiction of a teenage boy who finds love amid family dysfunction, community conflict and the truly terrible predations of adults. Vividly realised and emotionally intense, this scorching novel is an urgent addition to the new canon of unsung stories” – Bernardine Evaristo
Widow Basquiat
Widow Basquiat
Jennifer ClementWhat We Say: A love story for the ages, Widow Basquiat is an unorthodox dissection of one of modern history’s greatest artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat, as recounted by his muse, Suzanne Mallouk. Bound to tug at your heartstrings, this book paints a vivid portrait of the trials and tribulations of an artist like no other.
What They Say: “A compelling book that leaves a giant-sized lump in the throat… A vivid portrait of Basquiat, powerfully evoking his inventiveness as an artist” – Independent On Sunday
Three Women
Three Women
Lisa TaddeoWhat We Say: Lisa Taddeo spent eight years researching and interviewing hundreds of men and women before settling on her final three women. The result is an astonishingly honest and raw exploration of female desire and sexuality, imbued with empathy.
What They Say: “Three Women is an astonishing act of imaginative empathy and a gift to women around the world who feel like their desires are ignored and their voices aren't heard. This is a book that blazes, glitters and cuts to the heart of who we are. I'm not sure that a book can do much more” – Sunday Times
The Wild Womanʼs Way
The Wild Womanʼs Way
Michaela BoehmWhat We Say: This book will change your life. Intimacy expert Michaela Boehm shares an accessible roadmap to build a pleasure-filled and meaningful existence by revolutionising your connection to yourself and your relationships.
What They Say: “Wise, warm, and wonderful, like sitting around the fire, listening to stories from a brave adventurer in the inner worlds” – Lorin Roche, PhD, author of The Radiance Sutras
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being
Milan KunderaWhat We Say: With the backdrop of the Prague Spring, this mighty novel encompasses passion, philosophy, politics, and tragedy, asking universal questions of love and fidelity that remain both unorthodox and entirely relatable.
What They Say: “A modern classic… As relevant now as when it was first published” – John Banville
The Road
The Road
Cormac McCarthyWhat We Say: A harrowing post-apocalyptic odyssey that examines the best and worst of humankind. The tenderness in the father and son relationship forms the true heart of this astonishing novel.
What They Say: “One of the most shocking and harrowing but ultimately redemptive books I have read. It is an intensely intimate story. It is also a warning” – Kirsty Wark, Observer Books of the Year
The Last Girl
The Last Girl
Nadia MuradWhat We Say: Nadia Murad’s searing account of her kidnapping by Islamic State in northern Iraq in 2014, her horrifying time held in captivity as a sex slave and her daring escape into Kurdistan. Murad’s incredible bravery and subsequent fight for the rights of survivors of genocide worldwide is a powerful reminder of one woman’s strength in the face of unbearable cruelty.
What They Say: “Offers powerful insight into the barbarity the Yazidi suffered alongside glimpses into their mystical culture … this is an important book by a brave woman, fresh testament to humankind’s potential for chilling and inexplicable evil” – The Times
Read More: Nadia Murad: An Advocate For Sexual Violence Survivors
Swimming In The Dark
Swimming In The Dark
Tomasz JedrowskiWhat We Say: This sensual, poignant novel follows two young Polish Party workers who spend a heavenly summer swimming in secluded lakes and falling in love before they face political conformity when they return to real life.
What They Say: “Elegant, compelling and full of melancholy beauty… I will keep it on my shelves alongside novels by Alan Hollinghurst, Edmund White and other classics in the gay canon” – Evening Standard
Shuggie Bain
Shuggie Bain
Douglas StuartWhat We Say: Our Service95 Book Club’s first Book of the Month, prepare to be transported to the brutal reality of the Thatcher years in a working-class Glasgow community. It’s also an intimate study of the tenderness that survives the ravages of alcoholism in a mother-son relationship.
What They Say: “A debut novel that reads like a masterpiece, Shuggie Bain gives voice to the kind of helpless, hopeless love that children can feel toward broken parents” – Washington Post
Read More: Douglas Stuart On The Powerful Images That Inspired Shuggie Bain
Pachinko
Pachinko
Min Jin LeeWhat We Say: Vivid and deeply moving, this powerful multigenerational story about a Korean immigrant family’s life in Japan is a saga of endurance, love, and sorrow. It’s unforgettable.
What They Say: “Gripping… a stunning achievement, full of heart, full of grace, full of truth” – Erica Wagner
Noughts And Crosses
Noughts And Crosses
Malorie BlackmanWhat We Say: Thrilling and dangerous, breathtaking and heartbreaking, this novel explores race and equality through a dystopian Romeo and Juliet for modern times. It’s a fine example of just how powerful young adult fiction can be.
What They Say: “Packs some powerful political punches… But Blackman never compromises the story, which is dramatic, moving and brave” –Guardian
Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood
Haruki MurakamiWhat We Say: A tale of depression, suicide and trauma, Norwegian Wood takes a deep dive into mental illness and leaves you with a message of hope: to keep living and rebuilding after loss.
What They Say: “This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it’s also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows” – Independent On Sunday
Kink: Stories
Kink: Stories
RO Kwon & Garth GreenwellWhat We Say: A revolutionary anthology of short fiction edited by acclaimed writers RO Kwon and Garth Greenwell, this brilliant collection delves into themes of love, desire, BDSM, and diverse sexual interests. The lineup of contributors includes Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and many others!
What They Say: “A reflective and must-read collection” - Stylist
Half Of A Yellow Sun
Half Of A Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieWhat We Say: In this epic following the lives of Ugwu, Olanna, Odenigbo, Kainene and Richard throughout the horrors of the Biafran War, Ngozi Adichie is operating at the peak of her powers. Gripping, devastating and unputdownable.
What They Say: “I look with awe and envy at this young woman from Africa who is recording the history of her country. She is fortunate – and we, her readers, are even luckier” – Edmund White
Read More: Solange Azagury-Partridge On How Chimamanda Has Inspired Her Work
Bad Feminist
Bad Feminist
Roxane GayWhat We Say: Reading cultural critic, novelist and professor Roxane Gay is like listening to a trusted and hilarious friend. This collection of essays examines race, gender and feminism and the way media, politics and pop culture shape society’s views.
What They Say: “A strikingly fresh cultural critic” – Ron Charles, Washington Post
Read More: Dua Lipa’s Other Pieces Of Pop Culture Presenting Norm-Defying Views On Womanhood
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled HosseiniWhat We Say: A beloved modern-day classic and the follow-up to breakthrough debut The Kite Runner, Hosseini offers another heart-warming tale centring familial dynamics amid a contemporary backdrop of his native Kabul, Afghanistan.
What They Say: “Hosseini has done it again… A Thousand Splendid Suns is a triumph. In Khaled Hosseini, Afghanistan has at last found a voice” – The Financial Times
Read More: Dua Lipa Reads A Thousand Splendid Suns On A Solo Date
A Little Life
A Little Life
Hanya YanagiharaWhat We Say: Exquisitely written, A Little Life will challenge everything you thought you knew about friendship. Yes, the trauma is harrowing, but at its heart, this is a story about a love that knows no bounds – the love we find in friendship.
What They Say: “The triumph of A Little Life’s many pages is significant: It wraps us so thoroughly in a character's life that his trauma, his struggles, his griefs come to seem as familiar and inescapable as our own. There’s no one way to experience loss, abuse, or the effects of trauma, of course, but the vividness of Jude's character and experiences makes the pain almost tangible, the fall-out more comprehensible. It’s a monument of empathy, and that alone makes this novel wondrous” – Huffington Post
100 Years Of Solitude
100 Years Of Solitude
Gabriel García MárquezWhat We Say: An epic tale spanning seven generations of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo in Colombia from the GOAT of Latin American literature and magic realism. One of the world’s most famous books and deservedly so.
What They Say: “With a single bound Gabriel García Márquez leaps on the stage with Gunter Grass and Vladimir Nabokov… dazzling” – The New York Times