Book Reviews

It’s refreshing to read a novel that addresses life’s difficulties without being tormented

The active narration ensures the reader is right by the author’s side through this epic journey of discovery

Reflecting on the impact of friendships formed in childhood and of past events that we witness and study

This Dublin music scene fable enables the reader to experience a full kaleidoscopic account of the butterfly effect of human behaviour

Gripping new works by Dervla McTiernan, Jess Kidd, Chris Brookmyre, Michelle McDonagh and Jordan Harper

Dublin priest’s study examines how Robert Prevost emerged from Chicago, Peru and Rome to the papacy

New books from John Broderick, Antonia Senior and Hettie O’Brien

This strange beast of a book constantly flits between anthropology, neuroscience and cultural studies

Reflections on fraying communal bonds as a consequence of modernity

A new biography of a significant 20th-century philosopher

The author and her husband were selected to be the island’s first caretakers in 2019

The path that led to Donald Trump and current crises was forged decades ago by the missteps and missed opportunities of other leaders

A well-debated book that draws the reader in

Tracing the path of a global issue through accomplished writers

Lamb’s enlightening book prompts optimism

New Novels from Portia Elan, Brandon Sanderson, Susan Ertz, Mahmud El Sayed and a collection edited by Ronald A Geobey

This nonfiction outing is a story of loss and of the tightly interconnected milieu of the south Dublin Protestant

Bradley writes brilliantly, setting out the facts with the poise of a forensic investigator and the pacing of a thriller writer

The latest from Kelly McCaughrain, Soman Chainani, Caitlin Devlin, Beth Steiner and newcomer to the genre Tig Wallace

Ultimately Whistler itself is a testament to the transformative power of storytelling

Hamnet author’s 10th novel urgently and passionately maps historical change driven by famine, emigration, language loss, secularisation and much more

Compelling novel about hope, dereliction and the unmercifulness of privilege is set in a city that is both recognisable and weirdly unfamiliar

Moving meditation on belonging, loneliness; valuable details on life writing; expansive novel from one of India’s finest authors

This South African-set book focuses on three people in the run-up to emancipation day

Structural weaknesses undermine a book that was unfortunately outdated before it was even published

Dwelling on Earth: The Past and Future of the Places We Call Home by Stefan Al

David Scott’s focus on her work has good intentions, but also sees a missed opportunity

Barton’s debut novel is a surprisingly hopeful existentialist text grounded in modern anxieties

Carthew writes about her native place in context of a society that relegates communities to generationally diminished opportunity

Corrosive lifestyle patterns left the young actor susceptible to mood swings and depression as she fell under the spell of a wellness cult

Although bleak and at times sprawling, author’s debut novel is tender, surprising and immersive

Second novel from the author of The Help tells the story of Meg, an 11-year-old orphan

There’s a lot going on in this novel, so much so that the main plot is in danger of being sidelined

This book about Marilyn Monroe’s literary life brims with anodyne observations and saccharine psychology

Martina Evans reviews God-Head Contraption; Found in a Context of Destruction; The Tree Is Missing; and Cherry Blossom at Nightbreak

Author Layla McCay excludes queer Irish writers who have more than earned their place in any survey of LGBT culture

Daughter of Dublin playwright Mary Manning was a ‘free spirit’ who dared to make the human soul her subject

Intensively researched and soberly written, but perhaps too academic for some

The protagonist, a solitary lighthouse keeper south of Greenland, shines out strong and clear

In this fourth novel about Russell and Corrine Calloway, it’s hard to feel anything for these bland, shallow characters