Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (Plume, 1991-1995): I like to think of The Regeneration Trilogy as a single, long, juicy novel about World War I, the effects of trauma, and the ache of true love.
Mother’s Milk by Edward St. Aubyn (Picador, 2005): This novel takes place over a sequence of four Augusts, so it’s perfect for a summer read. The main character is tortured but also hilariously, bitterly funny. It’s one of a quartet of novels, but it was the first I read and, I would argue, the perfect way in.
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell (Vintage, 1979): If you only get a weekend off, this slim novel is the right book for you. It is, I think, the perfect novel. It is at once specific, about two Midwestern families in 1922, and universal, about how the sadness of some childhood experiences can reverberate.
Ayelet Waldman’s most recent book is A Perfect Hand (Knopf, May 19).
