All Fours by Miranda July
Some books aren't just recommended, but pushed into the hands of others with a whispered "you must read this". Such has been the case with Miranda July's second novel, a midlife coming-of-age tale that has become one of the word-of-mouth literary hits of the year. The book follows a 40-something semi-famous artist (much like July herself) who, after receiving an unexpected lump sum, decides to embark on a solo road trip, leaving her husband and child back home in Los Angeles. Just 30 minutes into the journey though, she leaves the freeway and checks into a small-town motel. It's the first of many unexpected turns in a story that touches on ageing, desire, marriage, friendship, motherhood, sex, creativity and more, and that The New York Times has dubbed the "first great perimenopause novel".
Long Island by Colm Tóibín
Author Colm Tóibín has said he is not a fan of sequels, but when an idea popped into his head for a follow-up to his much-loved 2009 novel Brooklyn, he couldn't resist writing it - and thank goodness he did. Set 20 years later, it opens with Brooklyn's heroine Eilis Lacey - now Eilis Fiorello - living with husband Tony and their two children in Long Island. Barely a few paragraphs in, there is a knock on the door that upends their life together, and sends Ellis back to her hometown in Ireland for the first time since her sudden departure at the end of the previous book. The story is told through the eyes of three protagonists, but Tóibín makes even the most minor of characters jump off the page. You'll feel like you're right there in Enniscorthy.
The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
Don't be too fooled by the cover of The Hypocrite, which shows two separate figures relaxing in the Mediterranean sun. This novel largely takes place inside the airless confines of a London theatre, where a father sits to watch his daughter Sophia's first play. It does however flash back to a long-hot summer in Sicily that the two spent together a decade earlier, the longest stretch of time Sophia spent with her largely absent father - and a holiday that inspired her play. It's a thought-provoking book that, in just 230 pages, asks complex questions about parental relationships, generational divides, memory and the ethics of art, while remaining sharply funny throughout.
Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler
Halle Butler's previous novel The New Me, a funny but bleak depiction of the modern workplace, was called "a definitive work of millennial literature" by The New Yorker's Jia Tolentino. Her new book - which addresses what happens when that generation edges towards middle age - has been called "the millennial midlife-crisis novel". Moddie is a 30-something woman who, after breaking up with her boyfriend of 10 years, leaves Chicago and returns to her hometown for the summer to reassess her life. There she contemplates "how unessential she was to the rest of the world now that she was childless, unemployed, middle-aged and single", and finds many of her old friends flailing too. Choose it as your late summer read and you'll be in good company - Zadie Smith said it "will end summer with a bang", calling it "so funny, so smart, utterly vicious - just brilliant."