The Devil’s Garden
Edward Docx
Picador, £7.99
The Voyage of the Beaglemeets Heart of Darknessmeets I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!This thriller set among entomologists (no, honestly) in the Amazon rainforest has it all: a setting so clammy and claustrophobic you can almost feel it creep along your skin; a terrific cast of loners, weirdos and outright psychos; more twists and turns than the great river itself; and a hugely contemporary dilemma: whether it's okay to claim scientific objectivity, aka moral neutrality, in a world beset by chaos, violence and grotesque injustice. Docx is a master of unease and, on the evidence of this follow-up to his highly praised novel Self Help, a first-rate storyteller in the mould of the late, great Brian Moore. The only things creepier than his jungle landscape are the humans who inhabit it. You learn a lot about ants as you turn these pages. But you won't be able to stop. Arminta Wallace
Vietnam: Rising Dragon
Bill Hayton
Yale, £12.99
Nepotism, infighting and personal acquisitiveness characterise the Communist Party of Vietnam, to judge from Bill Hayton's informative account. The result is governance that is short sighted, chaotic and corrupt. "Growth, poverty reduction, regional equality, media freedom, environmental protection – everything" is subordinate to the preservation of one-party rule. In recent years, the party has brought about short-term improvements at long-term costs. Whenever the author describes beneficial developments, such as increased personal liberty or greater standards of living, they seem to be accompanied by negative side effects, such as injustice or catastrophic environmental damage. Perhaps most disturbing is how the "American War" has become a subject that cannot be discussed even while large areas of the country are still toxic zones where diseases and birth defects proliferate as a consequence of the Americans' use of Agent Orange. Hayton obviously loves this troubled country, and he describes its complexities, wonders and difficulties skilfully. Colm Farren
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
John Murray, £8.99
Kamila Sidiqi had just earned her teacher-training certificate when the Taliban took over Kabul in 1996, and life for all Afghans, and for women in particular, changed overnight. Banned from education and confined, with her four sisters, to home, Sidiqi nonetheless became the sole breadwinner for her family after her father and brother had to flee the city. She began working as a dressmaker and, despite the repressive and brutal regime, managed, through a mixture of diplomacy and quiet defiance, to build a thriving business, eventually providing much-needed employment for more than 100 women in her neighbourhood. Rather than focus on the horror and hopelessness, Lemmon, a former ABC news producer, highlights the resilience, courage and sense of community she encountered in Kabul – all personified in the remarkable Sidiqi. Her fascinating portrait is, against all the odds, an uplifting read. Cathy Dillon
Memory Wall
Anthony Doerr
Fourth Estate, £7.99
From the bombing of Hamburg in the 1940s to the transformation of contemporary rural China, Anthony Doerr's second collection of stories journeys across continents and through time to explore memory as the source of meaning in our lives. In the beautifully written title story, a South African street kid acquires the memories of a rich white lady who is sliding into dementia. Here the reader is presented with the complexity of memory, which can be both frail and potent, distressing and empowering. Doerr is understandably the recipient of numerous prizes in his native United States. His writing is lyrical, his stories are moving and his style is controlled. His mastery of the art of the short story was further recognised when The Deep won the Sunday Times short-story award in 2011 – a bonus tucked in at the back of the already impressive Memory Wall. Sarah McMonagle
Dúlra Oileáin Árann
Con Ó Ruairc
Cois Life, €20
Dubliner Con Ó Ruairc has produced a wonderful look at the natural world of the Aran Islands in Dúlra Oileáin Árann, a book that is full of detailed and delightful colour photographs and illustrations of the flora, fauna, climate and landscape of these unique islands. Little birds, plants, flowers and even rocks stand out in a work that has high production values and intelligent commentary to match. The islands are very much their own little universe, and Ó Ruairc, who spent his life working with Teagasc, is an excellent guide. The book has a short Irish-English dictionary for the reader unfamiliar with wildlife terminology and a superbly illustrated calendar for 2012 – a thoughtful, rewarding extra. Readers of a certain age may remember Séamus Mac an Iomaire's equally valuable Cladaí Chonamara, with its insightful commentary on, and black-and-white drawings of, Connemara's sea life. Ó Ruairc has here provided an excellent, full-colour, companion volume for the 21st century. Pól Ó Muirí
