The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal is this Saturday’s Irish Times Eason offer

A preview of Saturday’s books pages and the latest literary news


This Saturday's Irish Times Eason offer is The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal. When you buy the newspaper at any branch, you can purchase a copy of the page-turning thriller for just €4.99, a saving of €7. Anna Carey, reviewing it in The Irish Times, wrote: "Emotionally and intellectually engaging, Elizabeth Macneal's debut is a stunner".

The Royal Irish Academy Michel Déon Prize for Non-Fiction 2020 is open for nominations from both the public and the publishing community as of today. Visit ria.ie/michel-deon-prize for more information. Breandán MacSuibhne won the inaugural prize of €10,000 in December 2018.

Rick O’Shea and Sinéad Moriarty have recommended their latest Eason Must Reads for 2020, including American Dirt by Jenaine Cummins; Actress by Anne Enright; Highfire by Eoin Colfer; Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen; and Apeirogon by Colum McCann.

Rick O’Shea and Sinéad Moriarty with their latest Eason Must Reads for 2020
Rick O’Shea and Sinéad Moriarty with their latest Eason Must Reads for 2020

Saturday’s books pages feature a great interview with Sebastian Barry by John Self, tackling many of today’s hot topics from #MeToo to cultural appropriation and commemorating Ireland’s troubled past. In Weekend Review, Turtle Bunbury explores the ancient but little-known Roman-Irish connection; and in Magazine, Conner Habib, an American writer living in Ireland, whose Twitter thread about all the things he loves about this country went viral, warms to his theme in a heart-warming essay.

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Our reviews include Joseph O’Connor on Tales of Boomtown Glory by Bob Geldof; John Self on The Good, the Bad and the Little Bit Stupid by Marina Lewycka; Paschal Donohoe on Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty; Rabeea Saleem on Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame by Alan McMonagle; Bobby McDonagh on Three Years in Hell by Fintan O’Toole; Chris Mullin On The State of Secrecy by Richard Norton-Taylor; Abi Andrews on Losing Eden by Lucy Jones; Eoin McNamee on The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold; Sarah Gilmartin on Oona by Alice Lyons; and Claire Hennesy on the best new YA fiction.