Nicola Dinan's Desert Island Books
Featuring a sprawling, slightly didactic 19th century novel, and Nicola's go-to comfort read.
Nicola Dinan grew up in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur and now lives in London. After studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, she trained as a lawyer. Her first novel, Bellies, published in 2023 to widespread critical acclaim, was shortlisted for the Mo Siewcharran Prize and also won the 2024 Polari Debut Prize—not bad for a debut! This January, she returns with her highly anticipated second book, Disappoint Me.
A sharp, unsentimental dive into millennial ennui, prickly friendships, and toxic masculinity, Disappoint Me proves that Nicola Dinan isn’t just a one-hit wonder—she’s here to stay as one of the freshest voices in contemporary fiction.
If you’d like to get your hands on a copy of Disappoint Me, consider supporting local, independent bookstores by purchasing it from Bookshop.org. Alternatively, why not become a paid subscriber to my Substack? You’ll be automatically entered into a weekly draw to win a book by one of my Desert Island Books guests—and Disappoint Me could soon be making its way to your bookshelf!
Featuring a sprawling, slightly didactic 19th-century classic and Nicola's ultimate comfort book, read on to discover the eight books she'd pack for her dream desert island escape...
Another Country by James Baldwin
This is an incredibly prescient book set in the late 1950s, following a group of adults in New York City as they reckon with the death of their friend, Rufus, who is Black. It deals deftly with sexuality, race, gender and violence, going much farther and deeper than many contemporary novels. Baldwin’s writing is fluid and emotive, and reading it often feels like being swept up in a wave.
Dune by Frank Herbert
If I could take the whole series, I would. They are works of genius, and are so philosophically expansive, offering ideas to contend with much of what we worry about today, such as despotism, climate change and the unregulated rise of artificial intelligence.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
A phenomenal series of interconnected short stories set across many years. This book has so many surprises, lives and genres within its pages. Egan is a master storyteller. Her follow-up to this novel, The Candy House, is also fantastic.
Transit by Rachel Cusk
I love Rachel Cusk and I love the Outline trilogy. This is my favourite book of the three, maybe because it centres on the renovation of a flat and I have always been needlessly obsessed with home renovation shows on TV. Cusk is such a sharp observer of mind and body, and I adore her masterful manipulation of language and form.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
There is just something about the sprawling, slightly didactic 19th century novel. I love this book so much. While certainly of its time, it speaks very precisely to the feeling we’ve all felt at some time or another, that there is a degree of “bad” somewhere in us. Ultimately, it’s hopeful, and inspires some faith in humanity.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I am, I kind of hate to admit, a Dostoevsky stan. His novels are totally moralistic in a way my books tend to avoid, and yet I find myself sucked into the rhythm and the excitement of his prose. If I woke up one day speaking Russian the first thing I would do is buy his untranslated novels (although I guess on the Desert Island I will have plenty of time to learn). This was a toss-up between this and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and I think what ultimately swings it is that Dostoevsky dives into the darkest ends of human nature.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
This would be my comfort read. I would pick it up whenever I miss civilisation, or whenever I need a little cry.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
One of the first “big books” I ever read. A fantastic chronicle of several generations of Chinese women, including Chang herself, who endured the reign of Mao Zedong, and a beautiful portrait of national and community struggle.