New poetry: John McCullough; Paddy Bushe; Raquel F Menéndez; Wendy Cope
Reviews of Crowd Voltage; Uncertain Passage; The Posthumous Book of Shahrazad; and the Collected Poems of Wendy Cope
Book Reviews
Bodily Fluids by Liam Hughes: Medical memoir aims to entertain but lacks nuance
Retired cardiologist’s dedication is evident but the tone of this book is at times problematic
EL by Thaddeus Ó Buachalla: An early contender for most ambitious Irish novel of the year
Equal parts Flann O’Brien and Dan Brown, EL is a novel of impressively epic sweep
Communion by Jon Doyle: A genuinely idiosyncratic way of describing the everyday
Novel has a meandering quality and a subtlety in terms of what’s actually happening that proves a bit too subtle
The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley: More extraordinary writing about ordinary lives
So engaging it will be read in one sitting
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe: Mastery of timing makes this investigation a page-turner
New Yorker writer’s drive to get to the truth again brings impetus to ask ‘just one more thing’
Mr Hoo and Other Stories: No judgment in these barrister’s tales united by literary mastery
A number of the stories in John O’Donnell’s collection focus on people who run foul of the law, an area in which the author has expertise
Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich: Intriguing, vital and often funny
Maybe Minnesota helps make this writer great
In brief: Leo XIV: An Augustinian Life in Context; The Sky Is Not Enough; The Dice Was Loaded from the Start
Reviews of works by Brian Heffernan; June O’Sullivan; and David Annand
Nonesuch by Francis Spufford: Distinctly Narnian in timbre – pure story of the richest kind
Part of the game of Nonesuch is to restore the reality of the second World War to a Narnian story of magic
Among Communists by Sinéad Morrissey: memoir captures North in pressure cooker of weirdness
Memoir expresses an attitude of observation that rhymes quietly with poetry, a revelation of a writer and her experience
All Them Dogs by Djamel White: Magical writing which tenderises the most hardened characters
Novel is filled with a street lyricism that mines masculinity in a manner reminiscent of Jim Carroll or Robert McLiam Wilson
The Visit by Neil Tully: Lyrical debut novel asks what happens to those left behind
A once insular Wexford community casts its gaze outwards as it prepares to welcome JFK
The News from Dublin by Colm Tóibín: Stories by a writer with complete command of the craft
New short story collection ranges over territories familiar to Tóibín’s readers: Wexford, Catalonia, Argentina and the US
Fiction in translation: City Like Water; Women Without Men; X is Where I Am; You Are the Fuhrer’s Unrequited Love
A nightmarish cityscape that is identifiably Hong Kong; a classic of oppression in Iran; a celebration of queer lives; and a stark exploration of Albert Speer
James Joyce - A Political Life by Frank Callanan: Depth and detail over a wide historical canvas
Book’s raison d’être is to magnify the effect of Charles Stewart Parnell and his downfall on Joyce for the whole of his career
Book reviews in brief: A Better Death; Wilderness of Mirrors; The Throats of Birds
New releases cover assisted dying, race in South Africa and Ireland reimagined as a surrealist dystopia
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here by Julian Zabalbeascoa: traumatic Spanish Civil War impact captured
Everything is torn apart in this moving novel: families, lovers, decency and indeed the narrative itself
Our Martin and All the Dead Voices: two republican takes on three decades of violence
Jim McVeigh writes the apologia for Martin McGuinness’s life, while Sinn Féin figure Danny Morrison revises and updates his memoir
Muskism: essential to understanding where we are and how we got here
A convincing case that Muskism has been possible only because our culture celebrates gross inequality and derides empathy and the common good
Elemental by Arthur Snell: how climate change influences who holds world power
A tough read, but a valuable one. Snell presents us with some fascinating geopolitical nuances
We Need to Talk about Roy by Dave Hannigan: Game effort, but Roy Keane is no Katie Taylor
Interesting observations on the Corkman’s influence on Irish rugby and tabloids
As If by Isabel Waidner: the absurdity of living with your shadow self
Review: Comically intricate layers slowly reveal themselves in the fifth novel by Goldsmiths Prize-winner Isabel Waidner
The Shortest History of Ireland by James Hawes: Unorthodox, accessible, deeply impressive
The author’s narrative choices will not be to the taste of some readers but he has packed a pleasing amount of knowledge and understanding into his concise work
Red Dawn Over China: Frank Dikötter revisits Communist rule before 1949
A critique of Communist triumph and its human cost, from the civil war to early statehood
The First Ghetto: Venice and the Jews by Alexander Lee: Stunning account of a dark history
Tracing the creation of Europe’s first designated urban quarter and the bleak reality for those who lived there
The Library of Traumatic Memory by Neil Jordan: Immediately engaging kaleidoscopic read set in 2084
Novel speaks to our current moment of data-harvesting taken to extremes and the kind of dud seances which Big Tech proports to offer via its ghoulish ‘grief avatar business’
Crime fiction: From a disturbing revenge story to a Romanian detective in an absurd bind
The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent; Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce; Maneater by Ellie Graves; The City in Year Zero by Michael Russell; and Astronaut! by Oana Aristide
A Far-Flung Life by ML Stedman: An epic and intimate family saga
Author’s descriptive talent and prose anchor the story in place, a vast sheep station in remote Western Australia
Minor Black Figures: a searingly intelligent critique of contemporary culture
Acclaimed author Brandon Taylor’s new novel is less romance novel and more dissection of art in the age of identity politics
A Rebel and a Traitor by Rory Carroll: Thrilling account of a key figure in Irish history
Author expertly arranges a huge range of characters and locations in absorbing story about Roger Casement
Helenio Herrera: Football’s Original Master of the Dark Arts
A riveting ride both on and off the pitch, beautifully crafted and impressively researched
Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor: perhaps a mirror for our troubled times
A dual examination of the decline of imperial Russia and the backdrop against which Rasputin’s influence was enabled
Enough Said by Alan Bennett: eclecticism of fourth diaries collection ultimately charms
Diaries are notable as the internal record of a thinking, feeling person behind the icon
Four Night Seas by Niamh Mac Cabe: A quiet, subtle capturing of cultural identity without resort to cliche
These strange, yet strangely familiar short stories encapsulate the distinctive Irishness of the rural west
Books in brief: Frank Shouldice’s moving tale charts a risky road-trip toward healing
Beneath the Cedar Tree by Frank Shouldice; How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley; Wise: Finding purpose, meaning and wisdom beyond the midpoint of life by Frank Tallis
Rory O’Connor biography by Gerard Shannon: A rigorous and impeccably balanced portrait
Rory O’Connor: To Defend the Republic shows why Irish republican deserves recognition for his turbulent life
The Woman in the Water by Henrietta McKervey: Gothic thriller reopens familiar mystery
Inspired by Rebecca, this novel explores themes of duty, reputation and female autonomy
Seamus Heaney’s later years: Nicholas Allen explores his final poetry volumes
Allen examines ageing, illness and the enduring light of Heaney’s poetic world
Good Slut by Zoe Strimpel: Blind spots and biases quickly show in this myopic manifesto
What’s most striking about a book ostensibly about celebrating women’s freedom is its utter joylessness
A Beautiful Loan by Mary Costello: Timely homing in on sorrows particular to women
In Costello’s novel the protagonist looks back on her life in an effort to determine ‘why we do what we do, or tolerate what we tolerate, or love who we love’
Dragons, drowned worlds, different realities: March’s YA fiction picks
Clíodhna O’Sullivan’s debut novel, Her Hidden Fire, and new books from Kristin Dwyer, Emiko Jean, Billy Ray and Luke Palmer
Book reviews in brief: Irish Nation Building; Crick: A Mind in Motion; Trip
New releases cover examination of early economic nation building, the discoverer of DNA helix and an on-point spoof of contemporary culture
Baldwin, A Love Story: Compelling biography reveals James Baldwin’s enduring passions
There is an uncanny timeliness in the appearance of this title, as the failings of American governance that Baldwin so clinically described once more cast a dangerous shadow
Hotel Exile by Jane Rogoyska: Moving account of ordinary folk caught in second World War
Rogoyska's Hotel Exile opens in 1933 as German undesirables flee west from the Nazi scourge
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!: Liza Minnelli sets the record straight in revealing memoir
US actor and singer’s frankness about addiction, fame and ageing is refreshing
Magic & Mechanics: A deconstruction manual for writers
The third iteration in Scratch Books’ Reverse Engineering series features a star-studded cast
We have fallen prey to the internet - but resistance is not futile, author argues
Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth
The best new children’s fiction books from a green shoot to something mighty
Tree Thing by Piers Torday; That’s It! Said the Dandelion by Nicola Reddy; and more
Joyce Cary: a writer alert to the twin evils of prejudice and powerlessness
A reissue of a trilogy of books by Derry-born Joyce Cary, who is part of that tradition of Irish writers - Wilde, Shaw, Bowen - who set about explaining the English to the English
The Coming Storm: A world moving for decades in the wrong direction
Development of rising nations has become the cause of Great Power antagonisms
Butter author Asako Yuzuki returns with Hooked: Latest novel resonates beyond Japan
After Butter’s global success, Yuzuki examines female friendship, modern isolation and the pressures of perfection
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise: A classic gothic romance at heart
A Dublin 4 version of Rebecca’s Manderley that’s delightfully sinister in its well-heeled hypocrisy
New poetry: A lifelong dedication to getting it right
New collections from Gerry Smyth, Cathy Galvin, Catherine Ann Cullen and Matthew Rice
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices