Also reviewed: Those Who Listen – New Irish Writing on the Bog

The novel ‘was always a form that not only thrived on inequalities but required them’, Philip Hensher says

This story of aspiration, romance, disappointment and reconciliation drags in the middle

An incisive and vital book, with a glaring omission

The title of this collection makes sense as many characters follow strange orbits

Paul Cullen’s book examines the planning mistakes, disputes and spiralling costs behind a hospital that was once expected to open in 2011

Catriona Clutterbuck on Throat Full of Feathers; Estuary; This Deep; The Matter

Most of the characters are puppet-like, reduced to stereotypes

Despite us being brought up to believe the West is a place of democracy and peace, for many it’s justifiably linked only to death, destruction and corruption

Supernatural a pervasive preoccupation, as is the relationship between sisters, and the circular nature of time

The author reimagines Gustave Flaubert in her new novel, asking what literature can offer us in a time of war, political upheaval and uncertainty

Rich writing on dealing with grief could have undertaken a slower, deeper exploration

Books by Mark Little and Christopher M Kelty take radically different approaches to the web’s lost promise

Novels by Sorj Chalandon, Alex Hyde and Madeline Miller

Plus new works from Lex Croucher, Adam Simcox, James Islington and Benedict Anning

While the author clearly admires his subject, this is no hagiography

A tale about listening and attuning oneself to signals from the air

A blistering honesty defines the prose, a willingness to present the author in an unflattering light

Well-paced account of Cowen’s public life leaves no clear picture of the man behind the decisions

Books by Valerian Pidmohylnyi, Sevgi Soysal, Olga Tokarczuk, Hernán Ronsino, Glenn Bech and Thure Erik Lund

Frank Shovlin provides an authoritative insight into a reclusive figure who was dedicated to his craft

Cork-based story at its strongest when focusing on The boy and a villainous land baron with eyes on the gangland throne

Showcasing the natural world; Ukraine from the front line; football, ground by ground

Susskind leans heavily on the analogy of the calculator as a disruptor to maths education

This is science made accessible in the golden age of neuroscience

Multiple threads converge into a research-crammed, physics-dense exploration of consciousness and human essence

Author’s elegant prose captures the anguish of dementia

Novel about modern Spiritualism mixes investigative journalism, ekphrastic essay and swampy detective fiction

Author’s full-on, pitch-perfect retelling blends visceral brutality with pure poetry

A nuanced and frankly terrifying guide to averting a third World War

The Wall Street Journal reporter recounts his arrest, trial and 16 months in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison

A poignant, moving, sometimes funny novel about regret and atonement

Plus an enlightening overview of Ultravox and the fickleness of fame, and an eloquent broadside against the US country music industry

A 19th novel in the Jack Taylor series from the late, great Ken Bruen, plus compelling works from Carrie Lee South, Mick Herron and Jonathan Ames

Insightful, illuminating works by leading housing commentators both ultimately ask: remembering our past, while looking to the future, what kind of Ireland do we need to build?

The voice is clear, natural and readable, staying within the realm of personal testimony

Despite qualms, the ending comes together beautifully

There’s a breathless energy to this novel that celebrates real-life figures in all their genius and flaws

The Lost Sportswriter: A Life Up Close with Irish Sporting Greatness by Vincent Hogan

Plus a wonderful and unflinching book from Trish Bourke and an enlightening read from Christopher Insole on questions about God

Intimate family interactions explored in portrayal of an evolving mother/daughter relationship

The writing moves with the rock-‘em-sock-‘em rhythm of his best flicks

‘The habit of reading good books needs all the talented defenders it can find’

The author etches the milieu of Irish emigrants in a mid-1980s London squat with grimy, sexy granularity

No overview or editorial explanation of the crux of masculinity is offered. This is just a book of testimony

Commitment to being out in the world with other people may reveal one of the book’s most vital messages

Margaret Kelleher seeks to introduce new readers to the work of this successful intellectual couple

New books for teen readers from Máire Zepf, Kelechi Okafor, Elizabeth Acevedo and Catherine Doyle

Stories of envelopes exchanged in pubs and Mafiosi-like politicians are familiar, but they still shock

Guardian’s chief culture writer offers Ukrainian art as something happening now, not work to be interpreted later