Book ideas for MIL and FIL

[ritzbiscuits]

Can you please help with any quick book recommendations for my in laws, I'm trying to help my DH!

MIL likes fiction books about different cultures. Also books about people's relationships. She LOVED Hearts Invisible Furies, and often asks if I know any other books as good as that! DH has bought Girl With a Louding Voice so far, after seeing it recommended here. Has already read When the Crawdads Sing as that would have been another good choice.

FIL likes history and politics books. We've done Roman history books to death though! DH has bought a book on China for a change but looking for another one to go with it.

They get books regularly out of the library, so tend to stick to buying books that are a year or two old. One disastrous year, DH bought his mum Gone Girl after several years of being in paperback print, so I try to help him a bit more now!!!

Thanks in advance

Bump if anyone can help...

American Dirt is a good recent book for your MIL; has she read all the Khalid Hosseini books - Kite Runner etc? Can't help with your FIL sorry.

Thanks I've not heard of American Dirt. Yes she's definitely read all of those (and loved them).

Has FIL read the Robert Harris books?

@Derelictwreck probably some of them, definitely Fatherland

For your Mum:
My sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Oh I too loved The Heart's Invisible Furies and I second the suggestion of American Dirt as a good read.

Has your mum read Anericanah or Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi? They are both more saga like reads similar to THIF.

Thanks kindly for all these great suggestions ❤️

I loved The secrets lives of Baba Segi’s wives, as well as a lot of those already recommended.
Especially Americanah, and My Sister, The Serial Killer.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is very good too.

For your FIL, check out the books by Erik Larson. They are amazing, and my favourite is The Devil in the White City.

Has your mum read Anericanah or Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi?

I was going to suggest Adiche but her books were published more than 2 years ago. But I keep hearing people think she's the best writer in English in the world so definitely a good option if MIL hasn't read her .

Has your MIL read Yesterday by Felicia Yap? It was my favourite book of 2019. Set in a place where people are in two groups- those who can remember only yesterday and those who can remember the day before as well. It really is intriguing and different from anything else. Part crime novel.
And did she read Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng?

@Feargalthecat Yes she's definitely read Half of a Yellow Sun, not sure about Americanah, but she could have easily have looked up the author's other books.

American Dirt sounds really interesting, and a bit different. She's read quite a few books about Africa, Japan, Afghanistan, so Mexican based is a little different. A lot less likely to have read it with it not reaching paperback yet.

Circe is brilliant!

Link here

www.amazon.co.uk/Circe-Sunday-Bestseller-Madeline-Miller/dp/1408890046/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=circe+madeline+miller&sprefix=circe&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1605377847&sr=8-1

Have you discovered conn iggulden the Ghengis Kahn series are good and julius Caesar

For MIL, try Madhuri Vijay’s The Far Field. Beautiful- India / Kashmir modern culture and relationships all together and beautiful writing

For mil - I loved All the Light We Cannot See - not new but beautiful. A Little Life - maybe too devastating but it has really stuck with me. Just bought Walking in Circles for DH about a pilgrimage walk in Japan. Something a bit different possibly for either.

Just having a google of these now, I think we're going to have enough suggestions to do books for the next few years!

@MatildaonaWaltzer that looks right up her street, pretty cover too!

Richard Fidler is an Australian writer who does engaging histories. His latest is The Golden Maze, a history of Prague. His one before that was Ghost Empire, about Constantinople. Quirky and full of fascinating detail.

I absolutely loved Circe.

Triomf is a good novel, although a bit heavy on rape and incest. Old now but maybe not so well known as some of the others?

A couple of other suggestions...

MIL might enjoy books by Dinah Jeffries - I know my mum enjoys them and they are set overseas.

For FIL have a look at 'Prisoners of Geography' - it comes highly recommended.