SuburbiaYouth and freedom appear to be fairly major burdens, at least in the hands of the unhappy characters in Eric Bogosian's grim …Fri Jul 25 1997 - 01:00
Tales of a hunger artistAlthough his career was a long and productive one, it is fair to say that the Norwegian writer and 1920 Nobel Laureate for Literature…Sat Jul 19 1997 - 01:00
The Burke enigmaHAILED by Macaulay as "the greatest man since Milton", Edmund Burke (1729- 97), political philosopher, prose stylist, friend …Wed Jul 09 1997 - 01:00
The Miller's TaleTHE concept of Writer as Public Man appears to have been invented by the American chat showSat Jul 05 1997 - 01:00
INDEPENDENT SPIRITINTERVIEWING a Kennedy is not easy. This family's story is part of 20th- century American historyThu Jul 03 1997 - 01:00
Woman into pigBIZARRE physical transformations in literature are not 20th-century inventions pioneered by Kafka, but date back beyond Gogol…Sat Jun 28 1997 - 01:00
Anatomy of Restlessness, by Bruce Chatwin (Picador, £6.99 in UK)What Am I Doing Here?, Bruce Chatwin's last book, was published in May 1989, some months after his death at the age of 48Sat Jun 28 1997 - 01:00
The music of quiet livesLIFE appears to be crushing Catherine McKenna, the central character in Bernard MacLaverty's Grace Notes (Cape, £14Sat Jun 21 1997 - 01:00
When is a "Molly" a "Welly"?"TO live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life," wrote Joyce and he might well have been referring to the…Mon Jun 16 1997 - 01:00
Reading the landscapeLANDSCAPE is seldom celebrated as widely in Irish cultural and literary life as one might expectSat Jun 14 1997 - 01:00
Fugitive glances at a solemn subjectAS this century draws to a close, the facts of history, particularly of war, continue to dominate international fictionSat Jun 14 1997 - 01:00
THE IMAGE MAKERTHE map of Ireland hanging on the wall in Druid Theatre's administrative offices tells some of the storyThu Jun 12 1997 - 01:00
Pursuit of love in a warm climateBOTH the title of Amy Bloom's debut novel, Love Invents Us (Picador, £I5.99Sat Jun 07 1997 - 01:00
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (Bloomsbury, £5.99 in UK)Despite the claims of Melville, Hawthorne and Washington Irving, Twain's pioneering, picaresque river saga could well be the …Sat Jun 07 1997 - 01:00
KING OF SWINGFUNNY things, general elections; while the politicians run scared and the public frets about expected tax concessions, there …Thu Jun 05 1997 - 01:00
Declares Pereira, by Antonic Tahucchi (Harvill, £5.99 in UK)Middle aged, overweight and heartsick in more ways than one, Pereira now finds himself editing the cultural pages of a secondrate…Sat May 31 1997 - 01:00
Mavis Belfrage, by Alasdair Gray (Bloomsbury, £5.99 in UK)The title story of this dazzlingly satirical collection, and the five shorter pieces which accompany it, all exude the unique…Sat May 31 1997 - 01:00
At last: the Great American Novel?SEYMOUR LEVOV, the hero of Philip Roth's magnificent new navel American Pastoral (Cape, £15Sat May 31 1997 - 01:00
A book for all readersEarly in his celebratory yet factual exploration of the small daily miracle we all indulge in, Manguel remarks: "told that we…Sat May 31 1997 - 01:00
Bitterness at the back of the busIMAGINE DRIVING across Europe on a long coach trip with a mixed group of sexually preoccupied, no longer quite so young lecturers…Fri May 30 1997 - 01:00
Victim of Hollywood successAT the age of 10, the Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold performed some of his piano work for Mahler, who declared him…Thu May 29 1997 - 01:00
The Woman Who Walked into Doors, by Roddy Doyle (Minerva, £6.99 in UK)Paula Spenser at 39 has no illusions leftSat May 24 1997 - 01:00
An exercise in designer amoralityARTISTIC merit suspends our moral judgment or does it? Should its It appears that it has become an accepted element of criticism…Sat May 24 1997 - 01:00
What de Buitlear sawMANY naturalists who have subsequently become career botanists, zoologists, entomologists and/or wildlife filmmakers can trace…Thu May 22 1997 - 01:00
De Rossa takes both greetings and grievancesTHE voters of West Finglas may well love Proinsias De Rossa almost as deeply as they profess but that doesn't mean they give …Tue May 20 1997 - 01:00
AN IRISHMAN'S DIARYCOMPETITIONS, particularly those involving juries, tend to be contentious affairsMon May 19 1997 - 01:00
Stranger in a strange landBEING caught between two cultures often leaves one feeling more bereft than privilegedSat May 17 1997 - 01:00
The battle of the booksTHE Spanish writer, Javier Marias, author of Tommorrow In The Battle Think Of Me, has won this year's IMPAC prize with A Heart…Thu May 15 1997 - 01:00
Spaniard awarded £100,000 Dublin literary prizeSPAIN'S Javier Marias's A Heart So White has won the £100,000 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThu May 15 1997 - 01:00
Getting it in the Head by Mike Mccormack (Vintage £5.99 in UK).Although continually demonstrating throughout the 16 stories gathered here that his bizarre vision, never mind impressive talent…Sat May 10 1997 - 01:00
A great opportunity missedMORE than a quarter of a century has passed since Thomas Pynchon's demented post-modernist classic Gravity's Rainbow exploded…Sat May 10 1997 - 01:00
FORTE FINGERSWHEN the second round of the Guardian Dublin International Piano Competition is completed at the RDS tonight, the 12 semi finalists…Thu May 08 1997 - 01:00
In the Beauty of the Lilies, by John Updike (Penguin, £6.99 in UK)Now and then even a writer as good as John Updike slips on the proverbial banana skinSat May 03 1997 - 01:00
With Mr Hung in new Hong KongWHEN formally announced in 1984 by the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, the British handover of Hong Kong to China seemed a…Sat May 03 1997 - 01:00
Death and the poetIT seems to be the definitive publicity gimmick - a new American poet whose day job as an undertake in Michigan makes him difficult…Thu May 01 1997 - 01:00
The Corn God's ninety nine brothersFAMILY reunions can prove as explosive as international diplomacySat Apr 26 1997 - 01:00
A-Cuirting passionate book-loversMOBILE phones appear to be taking over the worldTue Apr 22 1997 - 01:00
Twilight's last gleamingATE in his sad, funny, elegiac new novel, The Farewell Symphony (Chatto & Windus, £16Sat Apr 19 1997 - 01:00
Love's Work, by Gillian Rose (vintage, £5.99 in UK)Life itself is the major theme of philosopher Gillian Rose's remarkable memoir undertaken when she knew she was dyingSat Apr 19 1997 - 01:00
Eight writers are short-listed for Dublin literary awardFICTION in its most international context is well represented by the eight contenders for this year's £100,000 International …Wed Apr 16 1997 - 01:00
From youth to experienceA FIRST collection is a daunting challenge for any poet and the reception of Robin Robertson's A Painted Field has been further…Wed Apr 16 1997 - 01:00
In the heart of a chaotic universeNEARING the end of a long life spent living several lies, double agent and betrayer Victor Maskell, the Irish-born narrator of…Wed Apr 16 1997 - 01:00
A Cuirting in GalwayTHEATRE and the visual arts share the stage with an impressive gathering of poets and novelists at the 12th Cuirt International…Sat Apr 12 1997 - 01:00
The Magic Christian, by Terry Southern (Bloomsbury, £6.99 in UK).Guy Grade is so rich, he is clearly out of his mindSat Apr 12 1997 - 01:00
MAKE ME AN IDOLTHE venue, The Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells, Co Meath; the time, Friday nightThu Apr 10 1997 - 01:00
The Beat diesFUNNY, profound, declamatory, energetic, street smart and benign, Allen Ginsberg, the guru of the Beat Generation and one post…Tue Apr 08 1997 - 01:00
A guide to church goingANCIENT Irish church sites are among the most beautiful, mysterious and, curiously, the most romantic places in IrelandSat Apr 05 1997 - 01:00
Master dramatist has spent his life proving less is more"I AM well aware" said playwright Harold Pinter when accepting the David Cohen British Literature prize in 1995, "that I have…Sat Apr 05 1997 - 01:00
The King's English, by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler (Oxford, £6.99 in UK)First compiled in 1906 by the Brothers Fowler, those tireless guardians of correct usage, this reference book remains an intimidatingly…Sat Apr 05 1997 - 01:00
Reading in the Dark, by Seamus Deane (Vintage, £6.99 in UK).Few debut Irish novels have been more widely celebrated, and with good reasonSat Apr 05 1997 - 01:00
