With a book in your hand you can travel the world from the comfort of your deckchair. Here’s a read that will transport you to a sunny island…
The Orange House by Isabelle Broom (Hodder & Stoughton)
Somewhere warm and beautiful, with waves lapping the shore is surely the stuff of many summer fantasies. In (TST short story contributor) Isabelle Broom’s dreamy novel of second chances, and of love lost and regained, she adds in a rambling house, with apricot-coloured walls and surrounded by citrus trees in Mallorca. Violet and Henry bought the dilapidated La Casa Naranja when they were young and hopeful; 20 years on, their marriage is faltering, the house is up for sale, and both are nursing grievances and keeping secrets as their marriage tethers on the edge. Add to the mix their troubled son Luke and his protective girlfriend Eliza, and their summer has taken a turn for the fractious. But with the scent of the lemons, the sound of the sea and the shimmer of the sun, Broom sets the course for emotional reckonings and romantic realisations. Bliss.
To go with this book, we recommend a Sunshine Negroni
Serves 1
25ml citrus gin, such as Gordon’s Sicilian Lemon Gin
25ml Aperol
25ml Dolin Blanc vermouth
10ml orange juice
35ml grapefruit soda
5ml grenadine
Slices of orange, to garnish
1 Add the gin, Aperol, vermouth and orange juice to an ice-filled highball glass and gently stir.
2 Top up with chilled grapefruit soda and slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass. Garnish with orange slices to serve.
Bartender’s Note: Any grapefruit soda can be used, even Lilt, but for the best visual effect, choose white grapefruit soda over the red variety, such as Sanpellegrino.
The Sunshine Negroni recipe is taken from Spritz Cocktails: 35 Thirst-Quenching Sodas, Highballs & Sparklers (Ryland Peters & Small) Photography: Alex Luck
To find more reads to transport you to other locations, turn to page 67 of our August issue, where Eithne Farry introduces us to some books for summer armchair tourism.
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