Book Reviews

Works by Solvej Balle, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Ágota Kristóf, Rene Karabas and Ning Ken

A former Gavi chief executive, Seth Berkley, offers a firsthand account of the scramble to develop and distribute life-saving vaccines during the pandemic

A great advocate for authors, who was one of the first to champion the late crime writer Ken Bruen

A rewarding book that offers a cogent look at the science’s history and the second quantum revolution that’s under way

Novel examines the moral compromises of ordinary Chileans living under Pinochet’s dictatorship

Thought-provoking essays explore a place that has made progress but retains a strong capacity for self-sabotage

Ireland is a poster child for the very economic model Rodrik argues has run its course

This is an accomplished, deeply felt debut from the ‘cancelled’ comedian

Author explores a time of growing vibrancy for women that eventually came undone by a coalition of government and church

This France-centric book from a former editor of the French daily Le Monde has the sense of preaching to the choir

From New Orleans to Patagonia, the Argentine writer uncovers history, myth, and mystery in cemeteries across the globe

Williams’s pessimistic environmentalism is at the forefront, with the waning of the anthropocene palpable

The story of a powerful medieval royal house’s rise and fall is brought dramatically to life by Brian Lacey

Reviewed: Quantum of Menace; Hello, Transcriber; The Token; The Fourth Door; and Exit Strategy

Bringing to life the stories of the gifted scientists who spawned the nuclear age

French novelist Lola Lafon holds a solitary overnight vigil in the Annex of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

Ian Patterson makes a compelling case for physical books, Stephanie LaCava is entertaining as always and new offering explores golden age of visual satire

Beyond the easy attraction of ‘cowboying’, the quartet’s true heroes are the women of the west, with their preternatural strength, humanity and dignity in such a noisome environment

A meticulously researched history argues that Godot’s dominance has overshadowed Beckett’s wider theatrical legacy

A beautifully crafted tribute to remarkable women and a howl of condemnation at a country that ‘failed them’

The Belfast poet cuts her words to fit, or suit, though her poems can also settle into the straightforwardness of a realist play

New book explores the battles, atrocities, and political machinations of Ireland’s most violent insurrection

Journalist with the Economist explores our relationship with this ‘zero-sum’ asset: you either have it or you don’t

Eoin Ó Broin and Mal McCann pay tribute to the Dublin Corporation chief housing architect who built 17,000 homes for the city’s poor

New books by Marissa Meyer, Nikita Gill, Joelle Wellington, Hannah Marshall and Xixi Tian

Miller-Idriss writes with clarity and urgency, showing how everyday sexism provides the scaffolding for extremism

Female voices triumph in vignettes accompanied by recipes

Gaeilge is possibly more popular now than at any time since the heyday of the Revival

The future Nobel winner’s near 40-year correspondence with the editor Charles Monteith is a fascinating record of an artistic collaboration and its evolution

The long-time PR adviser to politicians has saved her juiciest material for this second volume of memoirs

Among those contributing anecdoates are Charles Dance, Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hollander

The ‘profound artistry’ of Irish music through the words of Erick Falc’her Poyroux, Mick O’Connor and Seán Potts

Fiction can be a great gift thanks to authors such as Alexandra Benedict, Charlie Nutbrown and Tom McCaughren

Martina Evans on Hymn to All the Restless Girls, Fallen, Brink and Foretokens

Families’ ordeal and the wider context of the peace process is examined in this methodically compiled study of the 2004 heist

Canada and the Great Irish Famine is a fascinating collection of essays on disparate aspects of a crisis that today’s ‘Ireland is Full’ crowd might do well to reflect upon

The warmth with which Rushdie’s revisits the landscapes of his life results in humour and genuine sadness

Catholicism provided greater certainty than the Church of England, which was considered a wishy-washy institution by many in the 20th century

Exploring an unromantic, multi-faceted idea of service to our fellow humans

Collection of nine short stories is darkly funny, humane and alive to everyday miracles