A Town Called Solace: a slow burner with fire at its heartBook review: Mary Lawson is an incisive chronicler of small-town life, writes John BoyneFri Jun 25 2021 - 06:00
Second Place by Rachel Cusk: A good novel by a great novelistBook review: It may not reach the heady heights of her previous work but it’s still better than anything else out thereThu May 27 2021 - 06:00
The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle: Entertaining romp through 18th-century EuropeBook review: Neil Blackmore’s new novel is not just played for laughs; it is an insightful study into a period of history often overlooked in fictionSat Apr 17 2021 - 06:00
John Boyne: I was abused at Terenure College, but not by John McCleanI’ve failed in every romantic relationship and now engage only in meaningless encountersSat Feb 20 2021 - 06:00
Little Red and Other Stories: Rooted in human feeling and authenticityBook review: Ní Dhuibhne is a writer at ease with herself, her reputation and her workThu Dec 03 2020 - 06:00
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually: Compassionate portrayal of griefBook review: Helen Cullen depicts mental illness in all its senseless brutalityThu Aug 27 2020 - 06:00
Summerwater: Natural world dominates in absorbing novelBook review: Sarah Moss provides excellent insight into her characters’ inner livesSat Aug 15 2020 - 06:00
And Their Children After Them: Disaffected youth in 1990s FranceReview: Nicolas Mathieu’s portrait of ennui and class in a changing nation is exceptionalMon May 18 2020 - 06:00
All This Could Be Yours: Family life in all its dysfunctional gloryBook review: Jami Attenberg’s latest work features a damaged cast of characters more suited to a horror novelWed Apr 22 2020 - 06:00
John Boyne’s children’s short story competition: Read the winning entriesTom O’Flaherty, Ryan Coughlan and Emma Broderick were chosen by some of Ireland’s top authorsWed Apr 01 2020 - 14:00
Topics of Conversation: An overly eccentric but promising debutReview: Miranda Popkey’s debut has brilliant moments undermined by self-indulgenceThu Mar 12 2020 - 06:00
John Boyne: In defence of the Booker judgesIf the judges felt that they needed the world to know about these two novels, shouldn’t that be a cause for celebration?Fri Oct 18 2019 - 10:50
Ask Again, Yes: The story of a family broken by mental illnessBook review: Mary Beth Keane has written an engaging, compassionate novelThu Aug 15 2019 - 06:00
The Carer review: dull siblings difficult to care forCarer Mandy should be the star but Deborah Moggach sticks with the old man’s childrenSat Jul 13 2019 - 06:00
Trust Exercise review: A bold novel that might leave you feeling cheatedSusan Choi’s book about a group of students takes a dramatic turn in the second halfSat May 25 2019 - 06:00
What Red Was review: A strong debut by an incredibly young authorSmall quibbles aside, Rosie Price has written a confident and provocative novelSat May 11 2019 - 06:00
My Enemy’s Cherry Tree review: Taiwanese tale too short for its ambitionJohn Boyne on Wang Ting-Kuo’s second novel, published 25 years after the firstSat Apr 13 2019 - 06:00
John Boyne: Why I support trans rights but reject the word ‘cis’On social media you’re either an ally or an antagonist. But life is rarely so binarySat Apr 13 2019 - 06:00
You Will Be Safe Here review: Stunning dissection of human barbarismDamian Barr’s novel incisively describes South Africa’s past and presentSat Apr 06 2019 - 06:00
Lanny by Max Porter review: The accessible follow-up does not disappointJohn Boyne on a spellbinding second novel that is worth reading over and overSat Mar 09 2019 - 06:00
Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley review: a rather brilliant novelA man’s death exposes a surprising ugliness beneath the surface in this brilliant novelSat Feb 16 2019 - 06:00
My Coney Island Baby: unpretentious romance about a middle-aged love affairBilly O’Callaghan writes with elegance and wisdom about a complex love situationSat Jan 19 2019 - 06:00
How to Be Invisible by Kate Bush review: Not a spare word anywhereReading the lyrics is to experience Bush’s songs in an entirely new waySat Dec 08 2018 - 06:00
Middle England review: Delving into the heart of Brexit BritainJonathan Coe uses wit and insight to explore the historic prejudices behind the leave voteSat Nov 10 2018 - 06:00
Enigma Variations review: elegant exploration of gender-shifting loveAndré Aciman displays aching sensitivity as he delves into the emotional life of a cypherSat Nov 03 2018 - 05:55
After ‘The Book Thief’, a novel that has been a lifetime in the makingJohn Boyne: My friend Markus Zusak was born to write this riotous Australian epicSat Oct 13 2018 - 06:00
French Exit by Patrick deWitt: laughter all the wayDespite its daft adventures, good jokes and amusing characters, the story floundersSat Sept 22 2018 - 06:00
Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks: A return to France and a return to formReview: John Boyne on an erudite and enjoyable tale of lost souls in the French capitalSat Sept 08 2018 - 06:00
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller: inescapably great storytellingThe Costa and Impac winning novelist plays with the past in this tale of war and retributionSat Aug 25 2018 - 06:00
Calypso by David Sedaris: grief, humour and an unromantic proposalThere is more sorrow in this collection of essays than in his previous works, as it deals with the aftermath of his sister’s suicide, but plenty of witty observations tooSat Jul 07 2018 - 06:00
History of Violence review: a captivating, rawly honest bookJohn Boyne on Édouard Louis’s deeply emotional follow-up to The End of EddySat Jun 16 2018 - 06:00
Last Stories by William Trevor: a final treatTrevor’s stories are full of characters on the fringes of society and their random encountersSat May 26 2018 - 06:00
The Nine-Chambered Heart: a sublime character studyJanice Pariat’s second novel lets nine narrators tell the story while never losing the readerSat May 19 2018 - 06:00
The Chameleon by Samuel Fisher review – witty, cerebral and completely in control of its storyThe whole thing is written with such a sense of cheerful eccentricity that it’s impossible not to be swept along by the charm of the narratorSat Apr 14 2018 - 06:00
Two Irish writers shortlisted for Dublin Literary AwardWomen outnumber men for first time at the top international literary award with one of the richest literary prizes in the world worth €100,000Thu Apr 05 2018 - 00:05
Shelfies with Irish writers: how the literati keep their libraries in orderSelf-confessed shelf addict John Boyne checks out how fellow authors like to stackSat Mar 31 2018 - 06:00
The Friendly Ones review: Philip Hensher skilfully combines his twin themesJohn Boyne on a novel of family life, exile and conflict between siblingsSat Mar 17 2018 - 06:00
Only Child by Rhiannon Navin review – troubling book about school shootingGreat child’s perspective of massacre but author cowardly on US gun controlSat Mar 03 2018 - 06:00
I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake review: City of Light proves dark for teenage voyeurMind of the most troublesome of creatures, the teenage boy, is explored in this unrelenting bleak novelSat Feb 10 2018 - 06:00
The Hoarder is a stockpile of claustrophobic horrorMelancholy hangs over every page of Jess Kidd’s fine novelSat Feb 03 2018 - 06:00
Girl in Snow review: a grim tale of murder in a small townBilled as thriller, this unhyped debut from 24-year-old Danya Kukafka is more of a three-character studySat Jan 13 2018 - 06:00
Turning for Home review: A sensitive portrait of fragmented lives after the TroublesSat Jan 06 2018 - 06:00
A Christmas story by Joseph O’Connor, Lisa McInerney, John Boyne, Emer McLysaght, Maeve Higgins and more...Ten writers play a game of pass the baton to create a Christmas mystery about an elf from Elphin and a magic crystalSat Dec 23 2017 - 06:00
The Travelling Cat Chronicles review: a touching story of friendshipHiro Arikawa’s episodic novel provides a fascinating insight into Japanese culture and traditionsSat Dec 16 2017 - 06:00
‘Twelve Irish writers, supposedly our greatest, and not a vagina between them’Male authors are always pronouncing their own brilliance. John Boyne would like to get something off his chestTue Dec 12 2017 - 10:44
As a God Might Be review: A novel written in good faithNeil Griffith’s novel struggled to find a publisher but deserves to find a readershipSat Dec 02 2017 - 06:00
‘Mad Men’ creator’s unsettling family novella will leave readers uncomfortable and impressed‘Heather, the Totality’ is quality fiction centering on a parents’ obsession with their daughterSat Nov 11 2017 - 06:00
The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth is diverting but sketchyWilliam Boyd’s mixed offering of short stories has moments of great excitementSat Nov 04 2017 - 06:00
Tom Hanks’s short story collection is like a box of chocolatesUncommon Type Review: While twee at times, the collection shows Hanks is more than an actorSat Oct 21 2017 - 06:00
Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley review: the importance of folklore proves the strongest refrain‘Devil’s Day’ is an assured follow-up to ‘The Loney’ that considers the themes of exile, mythology and rural traditionsSat Oct 14 2017 - 06:00
