The Shortest History of Ireland by James Hawes: Unorthodox, accessible, deeply impressive
The author’s narrative choices will not be to the taste of some readers but he has packed a pleasing amount of knowledge and understanding into his concise work
By Neil Hegarty
Red Dawn Over China: Frank Dikötter revisits Communist rule before 1949
The First Ghetto: Venice and the Jews by Alexander Lee: Stunning account of a dark history
‘My mother found love letters written to my father by another man when pregnant with her fourth child’
The Library of Traumatic Memory by Neil Jordan: Immediately engaging kaleidoscopic read set in 2084
Crime fiction: From a disturbing revenge story to a Romanian detective in an absurd bind
Neil Tully’s The Visit: ‘I wrote the sort of novel I like to read – a small town, a sense of trouble lurking’
Author Djamel White: ‘I didn’t feel like I fit in at school or at home’
SHORT STORIES
Book Club
Sign up to the Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more
POETRY
Minor Black Figures: a searingly intelligent critique of contemporary culture
By Margot Guilhot Delsoldato
A Rebel and a Traitor by Rory Carroll: Thrilling account of a key figure in Irish history
By Julian Girdham
Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor: perhaps a mirror for our troubled times
By Claire Coughlan
Enough Said by Alan Bennett: eclecticism of fourth diaries collection ultimately charms
By Seoirse Swanton
Four Night Seas by Niamh Mac Cabe: A quiet, subtle capturing of cultural identity without resort to cliche
By Lucy Sweeney Byrne
Dolores Keane will forever be the sound of the second time continuity and change coincided in Ireland
By Barry McCrea
Rory O’Connor biography by Gerard Shannon: A rigorous and impeccably balanced portrait
By Andrew Lynch
The Woman in the Water by Henrietta McKervey: Gothic thriller reopens familiar mystery
By Julia Kelly
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
The GlossOpens in new window
Read the digital edition of The Gloss magazine now
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices