Twelve warm, funny, feel-good novels that aren't romances
There are times in my reading life when all I want is a novel to wrap me up in a tender cocoon, sweep me along with a set of (mostly) lovable characters, and safely deposit me at its end with a feeling of utter satisfaction. I frequently turn to romance novels when I’m in this kind of reading mood, particularly the delightful historical romances of Eva Ibbotson, which are my comfort reads now and forever. Sometimes, however, I want to spend time with an eccentric family or revel in the petty social dramas of mid-century London. And sometimes I’m recommending books to a friend who isn’t a big romance reader or who simply wants something different.
Each of these books had me delighted, comforted, and deeply satisfied by the time I turned the last page. They’re feel-good but I wouldn’t necessarily describe them as fluffy. There’s real emotion within the pages of these titles, accompanied by a deep vein of kindness and a generosity towards their characters. There are also a handful of romantic subplots but I wouldn’t classify them as genre romances. I must admit that this is a very British list and would love to hear any recommendations for tender, sparkling international novels! But each of these are titles that I would happily reread, press into the hands of a friend, or simply savor flipping through on a rainy day.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
I just finished volume 4 of this series last week and each installment feels like catching up on the latest episode of a favorite cozy PBS costume drama. We have a quirky London neighborhood with a resident ghost, a colorful cast of characters and potential love interests, and our valiant heroine Emma, who takes everything from imperious aunts to interfering dukes in her stride.
Anything by Laurie Colwin
Laurie Colwin was my favorite authorial discovery of last year. I started with Happy All the Time, a delicious comedy of manners set in a now-vanished New York, and went on to her marvelous short stories with The Lone Pilgrim, food writing with Home Cooking, and clever, nuanced mid-life crisis novel Family Happiness.
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
An orphaned socialite has no other recourse than to descend upon her set of rural relatives in deepest, darkest Sussex and promptly brings her organizational acumen to bear on the entire family. I read this deeply clever, endlessly funny parody of rural melodramas back in 2019 and still recommend it to people on a regular basis. I even have a few other Gibbons novels lurking around my shelves that I should pick up.
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
A housekeeper, her young son, and a mathematics professor whose short-term memory only lasts eighty minutes form their own sort of family in this beautiful look at memory and mathematics. I was deeply moved by this story of unexpected connection and have never found math to be so fascinating.
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
A sprawling, totally engrossing family saga that chronicles three generations worth of triumphs and heartbreaks that had me wanting to go to Cornwall and bake bread in a tiny stone cottage immediately. There's a richness and warmth to Pilcher's writing that radiates off the page and envelops you in the story and I love the precision of her descriptions, especially when it comes to domestic details.
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
A group of strangers with almost nothing in common besides their commute are unexpectedly drawn together one afternoon. I found the entire cast of characters delightful, including French bulldog Lulu, and loved how Pooley blends a cozy feeling with some real emotional heft and plenty of witty lines, particularly from the titular Iona, an advice columnist with a magnificent wardrobe and plenty of opinions.
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
A mild-mannered spinster becomes enmeshed in the lives of her next-door neighbors. Pym is one of my very favorite literary observers of human behavior, with a perfect grasp of her characters’ surface foibles and deeper yearnings, and this splendid comedy of manners might be my very favorite of hers. If you like her style, try A Glass of Blessings next.
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
A voice-y delight about two siblings navigating heartbreak, identity, and their sprawling, chaotic Maori-Russian-Catalonian family. Messy as these characters may be, they’re also deeply lovable and I adored spending time with this family, as well as getting a peek into life in contemporary New Zealand. Best of all, another novel about this family is coming to us in April 2027.
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
A coming-of-age story set in the 1950’s, with shades of Nancy Mitford and I Capture the Castle, where our intrepid heroine Penelope encounters a bold new friend, a cynical yet strangely appealing love interest, parties and mishaps and the sometimes painful, sometimes glorious process of growing up. Bonus points for the magnificently crumbling stately home Penelope and her family live in.
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sheriff
A quiet, kind story of an English family’s annual holiday to the seaside that celebrates small pleasures and ordinary people in the loveliest way. It’s sincere without being overly sentimental or syrupy and I came to care about every single member of the Stevens family like they were my closest friends. A gem of an interwar novel.
The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John
Four women working in the dress department of a store in 1950’s Sydney form a surprising bond during one very eventful summer in this tribute to female friendship and the immense power of the right dress. It’s a wonderfully observed book and a perfect capsule of a time and place that’s about to radically change.
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Armin
Four very different women respond to a newspaper advertisement offering a medieval castle in Italy for rent and experience a transformative month on the Italian Riviera in this wonderfully evocative story about the magic of travel. I read this book on a rainy spring day and was instantly swept away to the sun-soaked Italian coast with von Armin’s luscious, charming prose.
Currently reading: The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville, a comedy of manners and love story set in rural Australia that’s my Women’s Prize winner for the month.
Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:
Like cinephiles everywhere, I went to see The Odyssey last weekend and had a fantastic time. An epic that truly feels epic.
Very good Vietnamese food at Bricolage in Brooklyn, including two different kinds of summer rolls.
And The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at New World Stages, which had me cackling in my seat.
