The Queer Bookshelf: A Reader’s Guide – a useful framework, but by its nature a book of omission
Author Layla McCay excludes queer Irish writers who have more than earned their place in any survey of LGBT culture
Book Reviews
This Poor Book: A Poem by Fanny Howe – a radical final act by an extraordinary Irish-American
Daughter of Dublin playwright Mary Manning was a ‘free spirit’ who dared to make the human soul her subject
Elites and Democracy by Hugo Drochon: Heavyweight contribution to long-running debate
Intensively researched and soberly written, but perhaps too academic for some
The Lightning by Jamie Guiney: A beautifully observed, big-hearted debut novel
The protagonist, a solitary lighthouse keeper south of Greenland, shines out strong and clear
See You on the Other Side by Jay McInerney: Life on the surface
In this fourth novel about Russell and Corrine Calloway, it’s hard to feel anything for these bland, shallow characters
Reviews in brief: A recommended read on Danny Blanchflower and a lost gem of American literature
Plus the fascinating and terrifying story of a woman’s escape from a sinister cult
The Beginning Comes after the End by Rebecca Solnit: Renewal in a time of despair
Author blends political analysis, cultural history and philosophical reflection to examine a new kind of activism
John of John by Douglas Stuart: A powerful, vibrant tale of secrets and lies
Set in a Hebridean island community, the third novel from the author of Shuggie Bain could be his best yet
The Power of Hormones, and The New Perimenopause: Practical guides by specialist medics a starting point for women
Has the time come for us all to learn more about hormones?
Walking to the Foot of the Sky by Miriam Mulcahy: A personal reckoning, a pleasure to read
How satisfying to find that everything needed to make this account succeed is present in abundance
Our Deadly Summer by Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen: Fast-paced millennial mystery
Co-authors successfully transition from humorous contemporary fiction to darkly comic crime
Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa: Interesting stories from the lunatic asylum
This book is at heart an account of the records of the female patients in Cork District Lunatic Asylum at the turn of the 20th century
Little Vanities by Sarah Gilmartin: Near-flawless novel on relinquishing our self-delusions
In her three novels, Gilmartin excels at complex and authentic characters. Here, we meet various Dublin types
Fiction in translation: ‘Chiquitita is a stunning achievement’
New from Agnes Lidbeck, Khalid Lyamlahy, Agnes de Clairville, Pedro Carmona-Alvarez, Fiston Mwanza Mujila and Claudia Piñeiro
The Pilgrimage; Stalin’s Apostles; Hello, Limerence - Two novels and a spy thriller
Brief reviews of works by John Broderick, Antonia Senior and Momo Yamaguchi
CTRL Essays on Video Games: Reflections on dominant imaginative language of 21st century
Writers including Rob Doyle, Lisa McInerney and Róisín Kiberd bring everything from metaphysics to Ireland’s housing crisis to their contributions
Imperfect Beings by Dermot Bolger: The fine-tuned work of a mature master writer
The author captures the stubborn, vibrant life force of his characters, flawed and often flailing in an Ireland that is hard as concrete
I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder: A less-than-successful first outing as novelist
The protagonist’s attitude to women in general, and his girlfriend in particular, left me struggling to engage with him
Part of the Story by Margaret Busby: a kind of extraordinary autobiography, personal, informed and generous
A broad-reaching selection of writer’s criticism, essays, memoirs, speeches, obituaries and rarer short fiction pieces
This Is Also a Love Story by Sally Hayden: Fearless reporting from Ireland’s most vital journalist
Love ‘feels like a form of resistance’ for writer who refuses to stop humanising people whose humanity is denied by others
Lives of the Saints by Mícheál McCann: Poetry that elevates the commonplace
Derry poet’s second collection dives deeper into religious and historical themes
Love Scene by Anna Carey: A novel full of hope and heart
Carey excels at describing the joys and horrors of creative endeavour
The Steps by Juliano Zaffino: A debut of rare confidence
The author transforms the familiar terrain of family life into something formally assured and psychologically sharp
Other People’s Lives by Kathleen MacMahon: Writing of harried midlife with devastating accuracy
Protagonist Justine realises she hasn’t so much made life choices herself as responded to others’ choices
Somewhere by Jessamine O’Connor: An addict’s life in an elliptical Dublin
This novel may prove challenging for some without a compelling character to guide them
Dirtpickers by Edie May Hand: An astonishing debut novel from a young Meath author
Tale of a rural, cult-like community in America of 50 years ago delicately maintains an atmosphere of tension and sidesteps the obvious
Belfastmen - An Intimate History of Life Before Gay Liberation: Defiance, tenderness and interrupted clandestine encounters
Focus on individual tales the great strength of this book, as author details back stories and afterlives of those on trial and the consequences of exposure
New crime fiction: frenemies, foul play and a touch of the supernatural
Latest from John Connolly plus Andrea Mara, Michael Idov, Michael Connelly and a horror-infused debut by Imani Thompson
You’ve Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Author exposes a self-improvement industry that is alive and well, its current manifestation being the pursuit of ‘wellness’
Books in brief: The Python’s Kiss; Runaway Joe; and Yesteryear
New works by Louise Erdrich, Pavel Barter and Caro Claire Burke
Whidbey by T Kira Madden: Unexpected compassion for child-rapist’s mother impresses in this debut
Strangers on a Train haunts the opening pages of Whidbey, when a young woman encounters a man on a ferry
Ambivalence by Brian Dillon: Slanted memoir told from a distance
Tracing the trajectory of a boy who ‘never stopped reading’ despite considerable early loss
Wild Iris by Ruth McKee: A shocking and surprising debut novel
This book set along the east coast of Ireland explores the psychic dimensions of shame, inconfidence and a lack of self-affection
Europe - A New History by Roderick Beaton: Skilful charting of political upheaval and issues of division and unity
In a vitally timely book, author asks whether citizens can come together in a ‘collective identity for Europe’
No Ghosts by Max Lury: a rigorous new exploration of the creepypasta aesthetic
Ambitious debut novel successfully describes the warped state of human-computer interactions, but its protagonists lack substance and emotional depth
The Powerful Primate by Roland Ennos: A startling conclusion about pre-Famine Ireland
Channelling the 1970s BBC sitcom The Good Life, Ennos advocates self-sufficient gardening as a way back to happiness
CS Lewis’s rich Irishness gives the lie to the ‘buttoned-up Englishman’ stereotype
As an ‘alternative’ Ulster Protestant with parents from Cork, his Irishness has been marginalised and reduced
Auden by Peter Ackroyd: The poet emerges as a profoundly repellent personality
Ackroyd’s biography is a definitive achievement written with verve
Light and Thread by Han Kang: An intriguing collection that does justice to its author’s singular voice
However, the South Korean author’s English nonfiction debut lacks standalone appeal
The Things We Never Say: Elizabeth Strout taps into something very alive in the human psyche
Set just before the 2024 US presidential election, this work is Strout’s most political so far
Frida Slattery as Herself, by Ana Kinsella: It’s easy to see why this debut excited editors
This is an effortless, elegant and impressive debut from a promising young writer
RTÉ: Saints, Scholars and Scandals by Shane Ross - bringing a sharp eye to barter accounts and clandestine payments
There is an extended profile of Ryan Tubridy - 'RTÉ’s fallen hero' - but Ross reserves most criticism for Moya Doherty and Dee Forbes
The Nuremberg Women by Natalie Livingstone: Memory always a question of where we choose to look
Work builds an archive against absence, showing how the story of Nuremberg has been shaped by the forgetting of women
Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly: Warm satire on TV melodrama about the Troubles
Author’s debut novel navigates sombre and emotionally complex terrain with impressively light touch
Digital grieving and dysfunctional justice systems: some tough and thought-provoking May YA reads
Five funny, challenging and poignant reads for teen and adult readers
Reviews in brief: ‘Hypocrisy and self-interest’ – a critique of European complacency
Blind-Spot Politics; None of Us Will Be Okay; Something Might Fall
Upward Bound by Woody Brown: A non-verbal autistic man’s valuable appreciation of humanity
An exceptional book that’s not only a great read but an enriching experience
The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin: Portrait of an unusual friendship and the acts that carry them
The novel relates how acts of compassion and kindness – great and small – are windbreaks we build against adversity
When The World Sleeps by Francesca Albanese: Effortless schooling on intricacies behind Gaza headlines
UN Rapporteur on Human Rights weaves together legal work she undertakes to achieve justice for Palestinians, with personal story
Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe by Katja Hoyer serves up history with a human heart
Hoyer explains how Germany lurched ‘from one of the most liberal democracies to genocidal dictatorship’
Gordon Brown: Power with Purpose – what has happened to leadership motivated by seriousness?
James McIntyre’s biography tends heavily to a depiction of Brown as having a sense of moral duty to lead, rather than to any ruthless ambition
The Fallen - The Magdalene Laundries and Ireland’s Legacy of Silence: A perversion of any basic humanity
Louise Brangan’s fluent and deeply compassionate account makes a serious contribution to a subject that has still not been laid to rest
From 1916 to the bailout – Colin Murphy’s Political Plays: 100 Years of Irish History
The author has an acute realisation that the arc of history bends not just to tragedy but to farce
Best new children’s books: Making history fun
It’s amazing how much you can learn while looking for a doll in an Omani souk
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