For those of us lucky/unlucky (select as appropriate) enough to work Monday to Friday, Sundays can be filled with a sense of anxiety and dread. I’ve found that one way to combat the Sunday Scaries is to get in a quick win that makes the day feel complete in itself, rather than a precursor to the upcoming week. This can take many forms, but finishing a book can be a very satisfying way to round out the week. You could either finish a book you’ve already got on the go, or below are eight novellas/essays/plays/poetry collections under 120 pages that you can bash out in a day.
Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami (tr. by Louise Heal Kawai)
92 pages, novella
From the author of Breasts and Eggs, Ms Ice Sandwich is a novella about a young boy on the cusp of adolescence who becomes obsessed with the woman who works at the supermarket sandwich counter. At the same time, he’s also dealing with his grandmother’s illness and a fracturing friendship with a female classmate. It’s a lovely little slice of life that says a lot about youth and naivety.
Lost Cat by Mary Gaitskill
120 pages, essay
If you feel like leaning into the melancholy, Mary Gaitskill’s book-length essay Lost Cat is a real tear-jerker. Short enough to read in one sitting and almost impossible to put down, Gaitskill recounts her experience of rescuing a stray cat in Italy, and the heartbreak and near-madness she felt after he went missing back home in the US. Alongside this, Gaitskill reflects on the time she and her husband spent fostering two inner-city children over summers and holidays. It’s a beautiful meditation on loss, and also the value of a life, no matter how small.
Felicity by Mary Oliver
85 pages, poetry
A gorgeous collection of Oliver’s poetry, focusing on love and joy. It’s a really uplifting selection of her work and might restore some positivity into your Sunday. Particular favourites of mine include ‘Roses’, ‘Moments’, ‘Nothing Is Too Small Not to Be Wondered About’, and ‘A Voice from I Don’t Know Where’.
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux (tr. by Tanya Leslie)
80 pages, novella/memoir
In this slim volume, Ernaux recounts her two-year relationship with a married man. Scandalising France when first published in 1991, Simple Passion is an exploration of what it’s like to live your life completely for another person. It blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction, but no matter how true the plot, you can tell the feelings come straight from Ernaux’s own heart and lived experience.
Chess, or The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig (tr. by Anthea Bell)
96 pages, novella
A real atmospheric read, Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s Chess is a masterpiece of suspense. Passengers on a boat travelling from New York to Buenos Aires discover that onboard is the world chess champion. Determined to challenge him, a group of them come together and are soon handily defeated. But then a mysterious passenger comes forward and the champion meets his match…
The Duke in His Domain by Truman Capote
50 pages, journalism/biography
The Duke in His Domain is Capote’s profile of Marlon Brando, originally published in The New Yorker in 1957. It follows Capote’s time with Brando during a break from filming in Kyoto. Even if you’ve never seen a single film featuring Brando (although I think that’s unlikely), it’s a stunning piece of journalism and the writing holds the same powerful characterisation as Capote’s fiction.
The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood
120 pages, novella
Structured as letters written in the protagonist’s head to imaginary friends,The Stepdaughter is the dark tale of J, a woman abandoned by her husband and left to care for their four-year-old daughter and thirteen-year-old Renata, his daughter from a previous marriage. J takes it all out on Renata, embodying the wicked stepmother archetype and treating her with coldness and disgust. It’s an excellent study of how hurt can turn to cruelty when blame can be passed on to someone defenceless and vulnerable.
Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer
80 pages, play
Whilst I’d highly advise going to see Black Comedy in the theatre if you can, reading the play is also great fun. Shaffer’s masterpiece is a one-act farce, following the sculptor Brindsley Miller as he tries to impress a wealthy art dealer and his soon-to-be father-in-law. But when a fuse blows and the apartment is thrown into darkness (light for us), the evening descends into chaos and a brilliant comedy of manners ensues.
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