Among Friends by Hal Ebbott: echoes of the dead giants of American literature
Exploration of male friendship and our responsibilities towards our children feels a little old fashioned
Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told by Jeremy Atherton Lin – How bigotry was moved off the statute books
The author intersperses an account of the evolution of gay rights in the US with the story of his own early love affair
John Boyne on Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie: Toxic masculinity steals the show
Debut novel explores similiar territory to the hit series Adolescence, but with a character 20 years older
Days of Light by Megan Hunter: Echoes of the Bloomsbury set
The author has established her versatility, but there is something calculated about the writing in this novel that suggests an exercise in style rather than a work of authentic fiction
Albion by Anna Hope: Shades of Brideshead in this fine novel about inherited wealth and difficult family dynamics
The author’s finest to date raises questions regarding our obligations to the environment and accountability for ancestors’ crimes
John Boyne on the art of book reviews: Never lie to readers, but deliver truth in a way that respects the writer
Twenty-one years after The Irish Times published novelist’s first review, he has now written 150
Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin: Inventive exploration of identity, faith and family
Provocative, largely beautifully written debut novel somewhat marred by a dispensable final chapter
The Edges: Sparse, unfussy story that still packs an emotional punch
Angelo Tijssens’ novel of a teenage romance revisited clocks in at just 93 tightly written pages
John Boyne on Fair Play by Louise Hegarty: A witty debut that celebrates the golden age of crime novels
It takes skill, and even a sense of anarchy, to produce a novel as funny and baffling as this
A Room Above the Shop by Anthony Shapland: A potent work above frustrating love that dispels initial scepticism
I’m willing to overlook the author’s refusal to name his two male protagonists, who end up in an sexual relationship neither anticipated
Flesh by David Szalay: Compulsively readable with more twists than the road to west Cork
John Boyne hails the Hungarian-English author’s best novel yet
Dark Like Under by Alice Chadwick: A brilliant debut novel
Setting this work across a single day offers insights into the politics of school life
Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) by Markus Zusak: When the family pets are ‘complete b*stards’ but also ‘beautiful darlings’
A frequently hilarious and also heartbreaking memoir about dogs you would cross the street to avoid
The Whale Tattoo and The Gallopers by Jon Ransom: A pair of intriguing, imperfect novels
It will be interesting to see whether the author is willing to move out of his comfort zone
Season by George Harrison & Greatest of All Time by Alex Allison: A brace of novels that hit the back of the net
One book concerns itself with long-suffering fans, while other focuses on love affair between players