Five must-read light fiction books for Mental Health Awareness Month

This Mental Health Awareness Month, ardent reader and book reviewer Sifa Rehema picks five light fiction reads that can boost mental wellness.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Rehema’s desire for quiet introspection made her reach for this Japanese novella, a genre that she says has a remarkable ability to make the mundane feel alive. Recommended by a friend as a short and easy read, it matched the contemplative energy she was seeking. She describes the book as charming and utterly addictive.

The story follows a woman in her thirties who has worked her adult life in a convenience store, exploring conformity, identity, societal expectation, and an interesting look at Japanese culture.

Though she would not necessarily call it a light read in the conventional sense, she views it as a mental reset. Its deadpan humour and surreal atmosphere soften the heavier themes, thus creating a reading experience that feels comforting and intellectually stimulating.

She finds the greatest sense of comfort in how the book captures the mundanity of everyday life through the daily tasks at the convenience store, where there is ease in knowing what to do and what is expected.

She believes the novel supports mental wellness by allowing readers to define happiness on their own terms rather than conforming to what is arbitrarily presented as normal. It suggests that yielding to one societal expectation rarely brings resolution; instead, it invites more, creating an endless cycle of pressure. She would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys short, thought-provoking stories that continue to resonate after they are finished.

“It’s that kind of a book which follows you for days after the final page has been turned over, prompting you to question your own assumptions about normalcy and the pressures to conform,” she says.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow appealed to Rehema because of Amor Towles’ distinctive ability to write about people and the motivations behind their actions. She admires the author’s ability to convey serious ideas in a light, engaging manner, something she had already encountered in his short stories.

Every few chapters feature quirky and humorous encounters with people the protagonist meets. Some of the events are quite outrageous, but that is part of what makes the book so enjoyable, she says.

“The novel’s episodic structure and its single-setting focus on the Metropol Hotel create a contained, steady world rather than a sprawling, fragmented one, making it feel lighter,” she describes.

Set within the confines of the hotel, the novel follows a Russian aristocrat placed under house arrest for decades. Despite the political backdrop and themes of isolation and loneliness, Rehema describes the book as charming and witty.

Rehema believes the novel supports mental wellness through raising questions about how one continues to live meaningfully when confined while the world outside keeps moving forward. After reading the book, she felt a sense of pure happiness and it made her chuckle in a way she hadn’t experienced in a while.

This book belongs on a list of light reads for mental wellness, she says, for its reflective fiction that encourages slowing down.

“It offers a reflective reading experience that encourages slowing down and thinking deeply, making it emotionally grounding rather than overwhelming,” she says. 

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

The title was enough to draw Rehema in; she found it intriguing and playful.

The book is a fast-paced and relatable story that blends humour with real-life struggles. It follows a young woman’s journey of self-discovery as she navigates the pressure to get married and learns to find and use her voice. Her decision to put herself out there in search for love, each time the results of her decision were unexpected in every way.

Rehema loves how the book engages with serious themes such as identity and complexities of relationships in a warm way. What makes the novel feel comforting, she says, is its familiarity. The pressure placed on women to marry by a certain age is in many African societies, and the book approaches this reality with humour.

She believes the book supports mental wellness through its emphasis on self-love and personal growth in comforting ways. After finishing it, she felt lighter and amused by just how relatable Yinka’s experiences were.

“During a stressful time, a reader might gain a sense of comfort and reassurance, as it reminds them of self-acceptance and personal growth even amid life’s pressures. The tone stays warm and relatable and softens heavy moments,” she says. 

The Jail Bugs by Wahome Mutahi

Rehema selected The Jail Bugs because of her familiarity with Wahome Mutahi’s humour. Looking for a light and easy read, she knew Mutahi’s satirical style would offer the sense of relief and ease.

What surprised her most was how the novel satirises life behind bars, transforming grim realities into moments of absurdity and laughter while speaking about injustices.

“It is the theme of absurdity, cleverly framed through satire, that ridicules everyday systems while still making the reader laugh,” she says.

The overall tone is comic, even though it seeks to expose underlying social injustices. It engages with real issues like corruption through satire, which in turn creates emotional distance, allowing the reader to reflect without feeling weighed down.

The Jail Bugs offer a different kind of escape out of despair as the only way of interpreting it. It lets the reader step sideways into humour, solidarity, and improvisation even in a place that should, by logic alone, offer none of these things.

The most immersive aspect, she explains, is the inmates’ interactions, as they form their own little republic built on humour and shared misfortune.

She sees this as one of the novel’s strongest contributions to mental wellness for its ability to show how people survive through laughter, solidarity, and storytelling.

“The book presents a model of coping that is not denial of pressure but redistribution of it. Relief comes in for the reader when they see stress is no longer something carried alone inside the mind but something that can be spoken and shared with others,” she expresses. 

Half Portraits Under Water by Dennis Mugaa

Drawn initially by the fact that it was written by a Kenyan author and captivated by its cover and title, she says the short story collection suggested something submerged beneath the surface. The interconnected stories explore grief, authoritarianism, love, yearning, and loss with intensity and honesty.

She found the story of twin sisters Olioma and Yagazie especially immersive, praising the emotional depth of the characters and the seriousness with which they were treated. After finishing the book, she says she felt awake.

For Rehema, the short story belongs on a mental wellness reading list because it validates feeling difficult emotions and challenges the idea that wellness always means comfort or emotional ease.

“This book is for anyone living in the era of a complicated political context that costs them something. I think for the most part even when stressed or going through grief or even when we all want to give love, this book serves as that witness,” she says.