Short and sweet novels as an Easter treat

Hello and happy Easter! Since most of us in the UK are getting a bank holiday tomorrow, I’ve devoted today’s edition of Bookmarks to novels you can read in a day – hopefully in the sunshine, if the weather holds out. No disrespect to long books, of course, but there is something very lovely about being able to read a book in one or two sittings (and this year’s International Booker judging panel seem to agree, picking six short titles for their shortlist).

For this weekend’s newsletter, I’ve selected five recently published books under 250 pages long that I’ve loved, right after this week’s picks. And after that, find out what novelist Rebecca Watson has been reading lately.

Audition by Katie Kitamura | Those who loved Katie Kitamura’s brilliant 2021 novel Intimacies will be excited to get their hands on her latest, Audition, which came out earlier this month. It doesn’t disappoint – this eerily gripping portrait of a woman and her relationships asks big questions about reality and what it means to be a person. It’s difficult to say too much without giving away the twist, but this is the kind of book you’ll be urging your friends to read so you can discuss it with them.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey | Orbital won the Booker last year, and it’s easy to see why: its heartfelt observations of the world, seen from the perspectives of astronauts in the International Space Station, are relatable, important and life-affirming. For those who prefer to savour Samantha Harvey’s beautiful prose a bit at a time, this won’t be the ideal novel to read in a day. Personally, though, I read it in a couple of sittings, and loved being completely absorbed in the characters’ world.

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes | Vincenzo Latronico’s fourth novel, the first to be translated from Italian into English, follows a couple, Anna and Tom, expats in Berlin, who seem to prioritise the aesthetics of their uber-cool lifestyle above all else. The resulting story, shortlisted for this year’s International Booker, is both scathing and beautiful – with plenty of wry humour. Hopefully the fact that my own flat, like Anna and Tom’s, contains a monstera plant and mason jar-lined kitchen shelves, doesn’t signify that I’m just as shallow as they are.

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel | Rita Bullwinkel’s exciting debut was a novel I was very pleased to see on last year’s Booker longlist. Though its structure follows the rounds of a fictional boxing tournament for teenage girls, the story flits between the characters’ past, present and future. I was amazed at how quickly and strongly I found myself rooting for the characters – which is testament to Bullwinkel’s skill.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion | Made up of four interconnecting stories, this mystery novel was a bestseller when it came out in Japan – and now it’s available in an English translation by Jim Rion. The anonymous, famously masked writer gradually reveals the sinister secrets hidden within a series of drawings that serve as clues. You’ll be hooked!

Recently, I have returned to Daphne du Maurier, having not read her in nearly two decades. I had remembered her books for their atmosphere, so I was amazed to (re)discover that Rebecca is in fact a psychological study of insecurity and fantasy, smuggled into a gothic novel. Her influence on Alfred Hitchcock is hard to dispute. I have also – in a haphazard fashion – been making my way through Virginia Woolf’s diaries, encouraged by the very good-looking five-volume 2023 Granta editions. I started with Volume 3, then 4, then 1, and now I’m reading Volume 2. Arguably not the obvious approach, but I wanted to start with her most creative years, and the temporal ping-pong has ended up emphasising the way her diary-writing style changed as she refined what she wanted to record and the mode she used to do so. She perfects, across the years, this abbreviated, dashed voice that prioritises flashes of recollection and thought over the formula of anecdote. It’ll be a sad day when I finish this reading odyssey.

• I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson is on the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas prize shortlist. The paperback edition will be available from 24 April (Faber, £9.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.