Günter Grass: storyteller of imagination and comic panacheGünter Grass changed the way writers wrote fiction and challenged the way we look at the worldMon Apr 13 2015 - 13:22
The Boy Who Stole Attila’s Horse, by Iván Repila, and Out in the Open, by Jesús Carrasco: Soaring like poetry, dragged down by clicheTwo ambitious new novels have similar themes but wildly differing effectsSat Apr 11 2015 - 01:00
Farewell Cowboy, by Olja Savičević: a beautiful, subversively appealing novelIn Dada, the Croatian writer Olja Savičević has created a compelling witness who is also a survivor, not particularly heroic, but likeable and sympathetic.Sun Apr 05 2015 - 08:00
Eileen Battersby’s Easter recommendations for younger readersThe Irish Times literary correspondent channels her inner Book Elf to pick her favourite new children’s booksFri Apr 03 2015 - 08:11
The Discreet Hero, by Mario Vargas Llosa: a crudely macho rompReview: a lame-footed novel romp from a revered Nobel LaureateSat Mar 28 2015 - 01:00
Review: As Trains Pass By (Katinka), by Herman BangThe tragedy of one woman’s life shimmers with an unsettling resonanceSat Mar 21 2015 - 01:00
Eileen Battersby’s Irish literary tips for St Patrick’s DayThe Irish Times literary correspondent offers her reading list to celebrate our national dayTue Mar 17 2015 - 06:54
The Vegetarian review: a South Korean housewife finds we aren’t what we eatA savagely beautiful story of humanity crushed underfootSun Mar 15 2015 - 08:00
In the shadow of the steppe: These Are the Names, by Tommy WieringaA Russian cop holds on to his humanity in this heartfelt novel from a Dutch masterSun Mar 08 2015 - 01:00
In praise of Jennifer Johnston, by Eileen BattersbyCelebrating Irish women writers: ‘Jennifer Johnston is canny; her laconic narrators reveal her sophisticated grasp of the many faces of Irishness’Sat Mar 07 2015 - 09:30
Charlotte Brooke: 'a glow of cultivated genius'Celebrating Irish women writers: ‘in translating the work of the Gaelic poets into English, she was to influence Thomas Moore and later William Butler Yeats. Brooke’s Reliques of Irish Poetry, published in the year of the French Revolution, was and remains revolutionary’Sat Mar 07 2015 - 00:52
Dylan Thomas and so much more – a St David’s Day salute to Welsh writersEileen Battersby looks at and beyond the three great Thomases – Dylan, RS and Gwyn – to celebrate the rich literary tradition of our Celtic cousinsSun Mar 01 2015 - 09:00
The Buried Giant review: Kazuo Ishiguro could use some ogresBooker-winner Ishiguro’s new novel, apparently set in post-Roman Britain, is a muddle wrapped in an enigma dunked in an allegory, and as plodding as its protagonists’ journeySat Feb 28 2015 - 12:48
Bloom, Odysseus ... and Ananda: Odysseus Abroad, by Amit ChaudhuriReview: A witty, delicate new novel covering one day in the life of an Indian student in London pays homage to Joyce and HomerSat Feb 21 2015 - 04:33
Eight works of Chinese fictionMake it your Chinese New Year’s resolution to get to know some of that country’s best novelsThu Feb 19 2015 - 14:30
Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian: a romantic book by a pragmatistTo mark Chinese New Year, our Literary Correspondent delves into a thoughtful Chinese novel Western readers can enjoyThu Feb 19 2015 - 14:00
December Bride: A grim masterpiece about life in an unforgiving place25 years after the release of the film version of Sam Hanna Bell’s book, Eileen Battersby examines one of Ireland’s finest novelsMon Feb 16 2015 - 16:15
Review: A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne TylerIt may be a mixed bag, but the American writer’s 20th novel offers moments of stark profunditySat Feb 14 2015 - 16:44
An Unnecessary Woman review: a long way from the real BeirutRabih Alameddine’s novel, both clever and pretentious, is set in a maddeningly Americanised sitcom version of the Middle EastSun Feb 08 2015 - 00:08
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ belongs to elite of undisputed classicsLee makes it obvious it is not Robinson on trial, but the racism of the American SouthWed Feb 04 2015 - 12:01
Apprehension as Harper Lee looks to follow up on perfection‘New’ novel preceded Lee’s classic but was not published at the timeTue Feb 03 2015 - 21:38
Neverhome review: Penelope marches to warLaird Hunt’s staggering novel is ‘The Odyssey’ reimagined as one woman’s journey into the heart of darknessSat Jan 31 2015 - 01:31
In praise of Lidiya Ginzburg’s Blockade DiaryOn the anniversary of the end of the siege of Leningrad, Eileen Battersby celebrates a book that captures the heroism and misery of its citizensTue Jan 27 2015 - 16:28
In memory of Primo Levi, author and Auschwitz survivorEileen Battersby recalls the day she met Primo Levi and assesses his careerTue Jan 27 2015 - 11:16
Eileen Battersby’s favourite Australian fictionTo mark Australia Day, our Literary Correspondent celebrates her literary wizards of OzMon Jan 26 2015 - 01:57
How Hans Fallada’s memoir finally made it from prison into printIrish academic Jenny Williams played a key roleSat Jan 24 2015 - 05:00
Review: A Stranger in My Country – The 1944 Prison Diary, by Hans FalladaNovelist’s daring chronicle provides a keyhole view of the daily paranoia of life under the NazisSat Jan 24 2015 - 05:00
Meet Shola, Eileen Battersby’s remedy for Blue MondayToday is the most depressing day of the year. So what you need is a good book about a dogMon Jan 19 2015 - 11:34
The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson: More Butch Cassidy than Le CarréSpy thriller is a labour of loyalty to the underrated and original JohnsonSat Jan 17 2015 - 01:00
A war of attrition: Eileen Battersby on The Winter War, by Philip TeirReview: A bland Scandinavian debut novel about a failing marriage – and a hamster – demonstrates just how difficult it can be for writers to make the ordinary compellingSun Jan 11 2015 - 17:00
The Book Quiz: from Henry James to JabberwockyTest your literary knowledge with Eileen Battersby's classic book quizWed Jan 07 2015 - 12:00
JMW Turner’s annual winter outing at the National GalleryEvery January Turner’s watercolours are put on show as requested in Henry Vaughan’s bequestFri Jan 02 2015 - 15:43
Abbey Theatre celebrates rich 110-year history in 110 momentsInteractive website celebrates National Theatre’s achievementsSat Dec 27 2014 - 01:00
Why the crumbs of Christmas Eve bring out the mouse in your house‘Twas the night before Christmas and all the through the house . . .’Wed Dec 24 2014 - 00:01
Newgrange magic felt even as sun fails to light up chamberTenacious dogs, Santa hats and surly teens on hand for sunrise on misty Solstice daySun Dec 21 2014 - 11:08
The Room, by Jonas Karlsson, trans. by Neil SmithA brilliantly deadpan take on modern-day office lifeSun Dec 21 2014 - 09:00
The Captain’s Daughter by Alexander Pushkin: A masterclass in storytellingA founding text of the 19th century Russian novel, this is high art at its most effortlessSun Dec 14 2014 - 11:00
The best books for elves – I mean childrenFrench stories based on artworks by Chagall, Picasso, Degas and Monet; Italian retellings of Gulliver, Captain Nemo and Antigone; and a Belgian story about loveSat Dec 13 2014 - 09:00
Video: Deborah Levy on An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of HellTo accompany this beautiful short film by Ana Godinho de Matos (Chameleoneye Films) our Literary Correspondent Eileen Battersby reflects on the seductive menace that has always shaped Deborah Levy’s elegant, intelligent and devastatingly realistic visionFri Dec 12 2014 - 17:30
Portrait of a Man by Georges Perec: We should have known it would be goodReview: Much-loved French writer’s rejected first novel is finally publishedSat Dec 06 2014 - 01:00
Great Finnish writers? Where do I start?Eileen Battersby celebrates the independent Finnish spirit, from Tove Jansson to Kristina Carlson and Oscar ParlandSat Dec 06 2014 - 00:55
Eileen Battersby’s books of 2014Our Literary Correspondent picks her favourite titles from a year’s readingSat Nov 29 2014 - 10:00
Eileen Battersby gives thanks for the great American novelsThe Irish Times Literary Correspondent celebrates Thanksgiving with a list of her favourite US fictionThu Nov 27 2014 - 12:45
Five Irish novels on Impac longlistBooks nominated by public libraries for consideration include 142 novelsMon Nov 24 2014 - 12:41
The Mussolini Canal, by Antonio Pennacchi: A peasants’ odysseyItalian Impac longlister is an earthy family epic, larger than life and cheekily humorousMon Nov 24 2014 - 12:00
The Blue Room, by Hanne Orstavik: plenty of pain, much to gainThis offputtingly odd, coolly daring Scandi novel is less laughable but far funnier than anything Mr Grey might get up toSat Nov 15 2014 - 01:00
A very special relationship: AmnesiaReview: The United States is definitely not the good guy in Peter Carey’s latest novel, a satirical burlesque that seethes with benign rageSat Nov 08 2014 - 01:00
Money by Martin Amis, for my money the best novel of the 1980sEileen Battersby celebrates the 30th anniversary of a virtuoso satireSat Nov 01 2014 - 01:07
