Mine Boy by Peter Abrahams: racism is the pitsA timely reissue of the prescient and powerful 1946 novel that explores what it means to be human when many people are dehumanisedSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
What Writers Read: an insightful guide to living many lives in one Book of the Day: 35 excellent contributors, including Damon Galgut, Sebastian Faulks and Marian Keyes, describe the books that enchanted or enlightened themSun Dec 4 2022 - 04:09
Flight: An intricate, moving study of character, family and frictionLynn Steger Strong’s subtle depiction of individual plights makes them keenly feltFri Dec 2 2022 - 04:37
It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover: A happy ending for star-crossed loversThis novel is the most pre-ordered book in the history of its publisher Simon and SchusterMon Nov 21 2022 - 04:46
Cells by Gavin McCrea: A riveting memoirOde to the author’s mother is also a ruthless, unforgiving exploration of his upbringing and the traumas he enduredMon Nov 14 2022 - 04:36
A Guest at the Feast by Colm Tóibín: Forensic, moving and wry collection of essaysBook review: Religion, homosexuality, illness, literature, art and morality are recurring themesWed Nov 9 2022 - 05:00
Liberation Day by George Saunders: Power and injustice in AmericaThis book is a prescient warning about where things might be headed in the not-too-distant futureMon Oct 24 2022 - 04:16
Our Missing Hearts: A compelling, original dystopian tale from the author of Little Fires EverywhereBook review: Celeste Ng has set her new novel in an imagined future stateThu Oct 20 2022 - 04:07
Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout: A novel that makes fresh the pandemic’s strangenessReview: Strout’s story of family and motherhood mixes ordinary life with extraordinary narrative complexity and wisdomWed Oct 12 2022 - 05:00
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson: Vibrant, arch, entertainingBook review: a novel inspired by Kate Meyrick, the infamous queen of Soho’s clubland in the 1920sWed Sep 28 2022 - 04:44
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie: An enduring literary friendshipBook review: The author returns to her winning formula, using her characters’ personal histories as a way to discuss broader political concernsFri Sep 23 2022 - 04:23
The Unfolding by AM Homes: An impressive, unapologetically political novelBook review: Freedom and democracy examined from the perspective of a group of millionairesWed Sep 14 2022 - 04:31
Total by Rebecca Miller: An enthralling collection full of surprisesBook review: Miller’s ability to allow her characters space to make their mistakes without judgment bears the hallmark of a true writerSat Sep 3 2022 - 00:00
Sojourn by Amit Chaudhuri: A short, compelling novelEvery encounter and remark seems charged with significanceMon Aug 29 2022 - 04:49
Haven by Emma Donoghue: Three’s a crowd on Skellig MichaelThe author seamlessly blends allegory, fairy tale, myth and meticulous research into her fictionFri Aug 26 2022 - 04:27
Eden by Jim Crace: A strange, unsettling vision of paradiseA novel showing the drudgery of paradise to be a fairytale to frighten foolsMon Aug 15 2022 - 04:49
The Irish hospital: A harsh world of ugly paradoxes The author skilfully, disconcertingly depicts the hospital as a harsh world of ugly paradoxesSun Aug 7 2022 - 05:00
Things to Come and Go by Bette Howland: A lyrical collection of striking urgency A poignant detail of this story is that Howland came close to not publishing anything at allFri Jul 22 2022 - 06:05
Blue Hour: Page-turning literary fiction spans fractured family over decades in Australia Sarah Schmidt’s prose is elegant and finely crafted and its many plot twists and turns delve into war, violence and the randomness of lifeWed Jul 13 2022 - 05:41
A Certain Hunger: Rollicking tale of one woman’s insatiable appetite for sex, food and fameSarah Gilmartin on A Certain Hunger by Chelsea SummersThu Jul 7 2022 - 05:52
Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo: A mixed bag of short storiesToo many of the author’s female characters think the same waySat Jun 25 2022 - 06:26
Keeping in Touch by Anjali Joseph: novel of ideas that runs out of steamThe protagonists are more interested in discussing the state of the world than in making plans of their ownThu Jun 23 2022 - 06:00
Please, sir, can I have some more?: The importance of food in fictionSarah Gilmartin, author of Dinner Party, offers an enticing tasting menu of literary delightsThu Jun 9 2022 - 05:53
Fight Night by Miriam Toews: Holds its own in the tricky world of child narratorsThe fears and embarrassments of childhood come alive through a nine-year-old’s eyesMon Jun 6 2022 - 06:06
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas: The politics of desireBook review: There are many wryly subversive touches in this engaging debut novelWed Jun 1 2022 - 06:00
Mean Baby by Selma Blair: Trite insights into a difficult but privileged lifeBook review: Actor’s memoir reads like a first draft outpouring from start to finishThu May 26 2022 - 06:00
Spies in Canaan by David Park: Masterful storytelling that deserves a wide readershipLayered tale set near the end of the Vietnam war is crammed with astute observationsMon May 16 2022 - 06:00
The Game, a new short story by Sarah GilmartinTwo couples form a friendship over regular games of bridge but suspicion clouds itThu May 12 2022 - 06:40
Here Goes Nothing: Much-needed medicine sweetened with humourSteve Toltz has written smart social commentary on our fossil fuel-guzzling, warmongering, information-obsessed, pandemic-riddled worldSat May 7 2022 - 06:00
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel: Original and eerily prescientBook review: Canadian author gracefully moves the reader across time and spaceSun May 1 2022 - 06:00
People Person: Imaginative, funny and thought-provokingReview: Candice Carty-Williams latest novel has plenty to say on experience of black people in BritainThu Apr 28 2022 - 06:00
One Day I Shall Astonish the World: A moving ode to marriage and friendshipBook review: Nina Stibbe’s writing is full of humorous observations and delightful idiosyncrasyThu Apr 21 2022 - 06:00
Drift: An ode to different culturesBook review: Caryl Lewis’s new novel is an original and timely story about impact of warSat Apr 16 2022 - 06:00
Seven Steeples by Sara Baume: Quitting society and leaving no traceHighly original tale of two misanthropic introverts abandons narrative conventionsWed Apr 6 2022 - 06:00
French Braid: Enjoyable novel but not Anne Tyler’s finestThis engaging read on the knottiness of family ties is full of wisdom nonethelessTue Mar 29 2022 - 06:00
Immediate Family: Compassionate story about family ties that will always bindBook review: A thought-provoking debut novel on adoption from Ashley Nelson LevySat Mar 19 2022 - 06:00
The Voids by Ryan O’Connor: a compassionate, original novelBook review: much of this reads like a surreal picaresque in a destitute part of GlasgowWed Mar 16 2022 - 06:00
The Wonders: a finely observed novel about working-class Spanish heroinesBook review: The money woes of one Spanish family over decadesTue Mar 8 2022 - 06:00
The Instant by Amy Liptrot: Goodbye BerlinBook review: A year in a foreign city brought to life by award-winning Scottish writerFri Mar 4 2022 - 06:00
New Animal by Ella Baxter: strap in for a crazed weekend in the world of BDSMDebut novel has an array of structural flaws but is saved by author’s startling originalityThu Feb 24 2022 - 06:00
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang: Eat or be eatenBook review: A family restaurant passes through generations with a huge helping of troubleTue Feb 15 2022 - 06:00
The Colony by Audrey Magee: rich in learning but loaded with literary devicesA novel that examines the pillaging of local culture on an island in 1970s IrelandSun Feb 6 2022 - 06:00
Violets by Alex Hyde: Inventive story of motherhood in wartime BritainHyde draws attention to how women’s lives were considered interchangeableSat Jan 29 2022 - 06:00
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness: A vibrant, shapeshifting novelBook review: Claire Vaye Watkins covers subjects from motherhood to Manson FamilyFri Jan 28 2022 - 06:00
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King: A rich and involving collectionBook review: Hope and hard-earned lessons from the author of Writers & LoversFri Jan 21 2022 - 06:00
Tides by Sara Freeman: A beautifully observed debutBook review: One woman’s attempts to retrieve herself after lossTue Jan 11 2022 - 06:00
In Defence of Witches: a rousing feminist argumentBook review: French feminist urges modern women to consider the term ‘witch’Fri Jan 7 2022 - 06:00
Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi: A finely observed coming of age storyA book of disquiet about a young girl who doesn’t speakTue Dec 21 2021 - 06:00
Lily by Rose Tremain: A winter’s tale with nods to DickensBook review: An engaging Victorian morality tale about a real-life foundling hospitalFri Dec 17 2021 - 06:00
The Love Makers by Aifric Campbell: Ethical quandaries of a sex robotUnique novel of big ideas considers advances in technology and where they might take usFri Dec 10 2021 - 06:00