Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans: A series of valuable awakeningsAn extraordinary and unified debut collection that has held its freshness despite the 13-year waitSat Mar 18 2023 - 04:40
The Gospel of Orla by Eoghan Walls: Jesus out of his depth amid modernity and teenage griefThe poet’s first novel is by turns funny, surprising and movingSat Mar 11 2023 - 05:00
Perpetual Comedown review: Off-the-wall debut offers poignancy and meaning Declan Toohey’s novel employs a heightened first-person register to mine the idea of an alternate Ireland in the context of academiaThu Mar 02 2023 - 04:04
Brutes by Dizz Tate: Full of intrigue and promise but difficult to decode This American coming-of-age tale narrated by a chorus of teenage girls doesn’t quite catch fireSat Feb 11 2023 - 05:00
Fling by Joseph Murray: A lively and propulsive debutMurray has joined a new wave of Irish male authors writing in the romance genreSat Feb 04 2023 - 05:00
Irish debut authors for 2023: Their own stories and the ones they made upTheir books explore all kinds of ideas, characters and experiences, from a thoughtful kleptomaniac to the real-life case of a ghost who testified in courtWed Jan 04 2023 - 05:00
Gifts for book lovers, recommended by book loversThe right book makes the perfect Christmas gift. From novels to music memoirs to biographies and more, some of Ireland’s familiar faces recommend the books they’ve been enjoying this yearTue Dec 06 2022 - 04:49
Rolling with my hunnies: Meet Dún Laoghaire’s all-girl skate crewHuns of Anarchy offers a safe, welcoming environment where women can gather and enjoy themselvesSat Dec 03 2022 - 09:10
well I just kind of like it, edited by Wendy Erskine: the art that permeates daily domestic life A powerful look at a wide and idiosyncratic range of work, including Jo Broughton’s photography, a slice of ham and a conversation about psychedelic flowersSat Dec 03 2022 - 05:00
The Irish Times books of the year: Best fiction of 2022Niamh Donnelly selects her favourite 16 novels and short-story collections from the past 12 monthsSat Nov 26 2022 - 06:00
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: An ode to Dickens, but with a contemporary edgeTwo central elements of this novel are familiar, yet the author’s lively style makes the whole thing feel freshTue Nov 22 2022 - 04:48
Aesthetica review: Under the skin of beauty ideals and cosmetic surgeryAllie Rowbottom’s debut novel explores body aesthetics and futuristic reversals of procedures undertaken in the shadow of social influencersSat Nov 12 2022 - 05:00
I Will Die in a Foreign Land: Compelling novel set during 2014 Ukrainian revolutionBook review: Kalani Pickhart uses news clippings, folk songs and alternating third-person accounts to tell the story of a volatile winter in KyivFri Oct 21 2022 - 04:09
Sophie White: ‘When you have a baby, you suddenly are hit by your own terrible power’Writer and podcaster’s first horror novel draws on ‘deep-seated fears’ surrounding motherhood and mental illnessSat Oct 15 2022 - 05:00
Susie Dent’s emotional dictionary: ‘There are a few Irish words in there, all wrapped up in longing and melancholy and yearning’Beochaoineadh, iarmhaireacht and aduantas all make the cut in the latest book by the lexicographer of Channel 4′s hit show CountdownThu Oct 13 2022 - 08:58
Forever Home: Graham Norton’s latest cosy crime yarn is another entertaining readThe TV chatshow host has cemented his place as a comic chronicler of the idiosyncrasies and strange goings on of small-town IrelandFri Oct 07 2022 - 04:28
Instant Fires by Andrew Meehan: love’s many formsBook review: inherited familial and national histories weigh heavily on this novel’s interconnected charactersSat Sept 10 2022 - 05:00
The Horse of Selene by Juanita Casey: Strange, mystical and utterly hypnoticReview: Reissue of a forgotten novel from 1971 that’s imperfect but extraordinarySat Jul 30 2022 - 06:00
Common Decency by Susannah Dickey: Despite its talk of inescapable joylessness, this Belfast-set book is packed with witReview: The experiences this accomplished second novel records often feel ubiquitous — perhaps more generational than situationalThu Jul 28 2022 - 05:00
The Young Accomplice by Benjamin Wood: the ‘saviour story’ paradigm interrogatedA well-wrought novel whose pleasure is in each careful scene, moment and sentenceSat Jun 25 2022 - 05:57
Nightcrawling review: promise, but no fireworksLeila Mottley’s debut expresses the humanity behind social injustice but as a novel it feels flat and didacticMon May 30 2022 - 19:00
Take My Hand: Tale of race, class and powerDolen Perkins-Valdez uses medical practice and ethics to explore history of black AmericaFri May 27 2022 - 06:00
Edith by Martina Devlin: Somerville and lossOne half of the writing due sets out to adapt the Irish RM stories for stageWed May 11 2022 - 06:00
Companion Piece by Ali Smith: Digging through language to find real lifeBook review: Seasonal Quartet sequel builds on preoccupations of borders and failed leadershipFri Apr 22 2022 - 06:00
Lenny: Nuanced convergence of two tales of innocenceLaura McVeigh shapeshifts between a Louisiana child and a downed war pilotSat Mar 19 2022 - 06:00
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu: The problem with love and malenessNovel centring on men of Nigerian heritage is insightful but has a tendency to overexplainSat Mar 12 2022 - 06:00
Our Wives Under the Sea: Sharp and distinctive debut novelBook review: Julia Armfield has crafted a tale of two female spouses, one of whom has just returned from a deep-sea mission gone wrongSat Mar 12 2022 - 06:00
Niamh Campbell: ‘I do think life, for everybody, is a private hallucination’Winner of the Rooney Prize and Sunday Times short story award on her new novel, We Were YoungThu Feb 17 2022 - 06:00
12 debut Irish writers to look out for in 2022Introducing new Irish authors Olivia Fitzsimons, Catherine Prasifka, Sheila Armstrong and moreThu Jan 13 2022 - 06:00
Winter Papers 7 review: Anthology of intimate work from ‘scene’ artistsMix of creative contributors lends niche and rarefied book element of immediacyTue Dec 14 2021 - 06:00
Booksellers’ favourite books to give for Christmas 2021Some of Ireland’s independent booksellers recommend their best reads for ChristmasMon Nov 29 2021 - 05:00
Best books for Christmas 2021: Fiction, biography, sport and children’s booksSomething for everyone from sport fans and literary types to politics nerds in this listSat Nov 27 2021 - 06:00
Aisling and the City: Primark meets Prada in the Big AppleBook review: There’s plenty of laughter – and familiarity – in Emer McLysaght’s and Sarah Breen’s latest book in the seriesSat Nov 13 2021 - 06:00
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat by Brian Cox: ticking the boxesActor has less panache as a writer but Succession fever will lure fans to his bookFri Nov 12 2021 - 06:00
The Ghostlights by Gráinne Murphy: A rural Irish family on the edgeThe author’s second novel concerns life, death, religion and control – or the lack of itSat Sept 25 2021 - 06:00
Sarah Gilmartin: ‘There’s a weight of expectation that my book will be well received’The critic-turned-author on her debut novel, coping with rejection and life as a freelancerThu Sept 16 2021 - 06:00
20 gripping books: Fiction and non-fiction to read this summerWe round up the best books so you will not be stuck for a great read as days get longerSat Jun 05 2021 - 06:00
Trouble: Lyricism and cynicism bring a strange sort of wisdomBook review: It is hard not to be impressed by these stories from Philip Ó CeallaighWed Jun 02 2021 - 06:00
Before My Actual Heart Breaks: A promising but flawed Troubles taleThere is much to admire in Tish Delaney’s debut novel but it ultimately fails to convinceSat Feb 27 2021 - 06:00
First of all: Irish writers on their debut novels coming out in 2021From Louise Nealon’s coming-of-age tale to Una Mannion’s American nightmareSat Jan 30 2021 - 06:00
Interior Chinatown: Clever, inventive dissection of traps faced by Asian AmericansBook review: Charles Yu’s novel looks at how the US’s story excludes large swathes of peopleFri Jan 29 2021 - 06:00
Daddy by Emma Cline: Looking at the melancholy of modernityBook review: Short-story collection from writer of deservedly-hyped novel, The GirlsWed Dec 16 2020 - 06:00
Ask the Experts: Christmas books 2020There’s a book here to suit just about everyone on your Christmas listMon Dec 07 2020 - 05:00
Best books for Christmas 2020: Fiction, biography, sport and kids’ booksThere’s something for sport nuts, crime fanatics, literary fans and children in this listSat Nov 28 2020 - 06:00
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Ellen: testing the reviewer’s faithBook review: Coyne does things her own way and doesn’t give a blessed damnMon Nov 09 2020 - 06:00
Inside Story by Martin Amis: An arrogant and long-winded messMartin Amis trips over his own cleverness in irksome and largely autobiographical workWed Oct 28 2020 - 06:00
Lot: Making the city sing with sharp lyricismBook Review: Bryan Washington’s short story collection focuses on the lives of marginalised citizensWed Aug 26 2020 - 06:00
Life, death and the secrets that lie betweenPoet Elaine Feeney had a brush with her own mortality before writing her much-anticipated debut novelSat Aug 15 2020 - 06:00
Memorial Drive – A Daughter’s Memoir: Cleverly crafted, insightful and movingBook review: former US poet laureate Natasha Trethewey comes to terms with the murder of her motherWed Aug 12 2020 - 06:00
Supporting Cast by Kit de Waal: The bit parts have their dayThe novelist fleshes out minor characters from previous works in a collection of storiesMon Aug 03 2020 - 06:00
