
Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf review: Polar expedition journeys to centre of the self
- Books
- July 28, 2018, 06:15
Debut by Catalan multimedia artist is brisk philosophical narrative with sharp set pieces

The Lost Country review: an unfinished novel of dazzling interludes
- Books
- July 21, 2018, 06:10
William Gay’s Dickensian feel for character makes even this rambling story surge with life

Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes: more vicious wit and stark insight
- Books
- July 14, 2018, 06:00
This fast-flowing sequel continues the search for hero Vernon, who is in full-blown freefall

Paul Simon at the RDS: 'Maybe I’ll just keep coming to Dublin'
- Music
- July 13, 2018, 23:10
Songs sung a thousand times lose none of their mystique at Paul Simon's farewell concert in Dublin

Paul Simon: Farewell and thank you to a near mythic troubadour
- Music
- July 13, 2018, 06:26
Paul Simon’s last Irish concert the RDS Dublin will be an intense, emotional evening

The English Patient review: Love and loss in the desert fires
- Books
- July 8, 2018, 20:50
From the archive: Eileen Battersby’s review of ‘The English Patient’ by Michael Ondaatje, originally published on September 12th, (...)

Why Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’ deserved the Golden Man Booker
- Books
- July 8, 2018, 20:47
Special accolade celebrates 50th anniversary of the literary prize

Who should – and who will – win the Golden Man Booker?
- Books
- July 6, 2018, 17:39
Eileen Battersby weighs up the shortlist for Sunday’s award to mark 50 years of the prize

Anne Tyler: the human face of America
- Books
- July 4, 2018, 06:00
Her 22nd novel, ‘Clock Dance’, is not just very good. It reminds readers of the Founding Fathers’ core values

Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes, translated by Frank Wynne review: One of the books of the year, if not the decade
- Books
- October 14, 2017, 06:00
Bold and sophisticated, this thrilling, magnificently audacious picaresque is about France and is also about all of us

Mrs Osmond by John Banville: An entertaining homage to Henry James
- Books
- October 7, 2017, 06:00
If Banville succeeds in making readers return to Henry James, this lively enterprise will prove a useful and generous gesture to a(...)

Edward Lear leaps off the page in a poignant, exciting biography
- Books
- September 30, 2017, 06:00
Jenny Uglow gets to grips with the Victorian poet, painter and polished letter writer

Yawningly long: more florid prose from Salman Rushdie
- Books
- September 23, 2017, 06:00
Review: The Golden House is a messy soap opera full of cliche and sexism, writes Eileen Battersby

The Wardrobe Mistress: Theatrical triumph from a master of English Gothic
- Books
- September 16, 2017, 06:00
Patrick McGrath’s 10th novel is set in bleak postwar London, and steeped in greasepaint

Man Booker prize 2017: glaring omissions and surprise inclusions
- Books
- September 13, 2017, 17:48
The selection is playfully perverse, not to mention the failure to elevate Mike McCormack and Sebastian Barry to the shortlist

Orhan Pamuk’s new novel: a slow-moving drawl of a yarn
- Books
- September 9, 2017, 06:00
The Red-Haired Woman represents a poor effort at a shambolic narrative

4th of July: Eileen Battersby’s best short stories for Independence Day
- Books
- July 4, 2017, 11:00
From Cheever to Ron Rash, Carver to Eudora Welty, O’Connor to Richard Ford, some of the finest American writing is to be found in (...)

Independence day: 10 great things to celebrate about America
- US
- July 4, 2017, 01:03
On its birthday, a very personal list of the best gifts the US has given the world

A Jest of God review: 50 years later, Margaret Laurence’s legacy still intact
- Books
- July 1, 2017, 06:00
Protagonist Rachel tells the story of a life in limbo. Although tender, it is never sentimental

Canada Day: Eileen Battersby’s guide to Canada’s best writers
- Books
- July 1, 2017, 05:00
There’s more to Canadian literature than the wonderful Alice Munro

It’s Canada Day! Here’s 10 reasons why we should be thankful
- World
- July 1, 2017, 05:00
The best of Canada includes the food, the people and, of course, the view

Missing Fay review: a poet crafts a very fine novel
- Books
- June 24, 2017, 06:00
Adam Thorpe is a very good storyteller with an inspired feel for ordinary detail

José Eduardo Agualusa wins €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award
- Books
- June 21, 2017, 11:59
A General Theory of Oblivion tells the story of a traumatised woman who retreats from the world during Angola’s civil war

Father’s Day book suggestions
- Books
- June 16, 2017, 15:03
Eileen Battersby’s recommendations for well-read Dads

David Grossman wins Man Booker International prize
- Books
- June 14, 2017, 21:44
Israeli author takes prize for A Horse walks into a Bar, in which a foul-mouthed Jewish comic is in meltdown

Man Booker International Prize preview
- Books
- June 14, 2017, 14:28
Eileen Battersby surveys the shortlist of six titles ahead of tonight’s awards ceremony

You Should Have Left review: welcome to a hall of mirrors
- Books
- June 10, 2017, 06:30
Daniel Kehlmann is a formidable observer with a flair for articulating dysfunctional behaviour

Richard Ford: It is difficult to say something smart about a stupid man
- Books
- June 8, 2017, 06:00
US writer Richard Ford on Trump, the state of America and his memoir about his parents

Baileys prize goes to The Power, a dystopian thriller with a feminist twist
- Books
- June 7, 2017, 19:30
Naomi Alderman’s novel features women who are able to kill with a single touch

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy review: all too obvious
- Books
- June 1, 2017, 06:00
The Booker winner’s polemical instinct is far more developed than her art, says Eileen Battersby

A French slacker’s journey into his country’s war-torn past
- Books
- May 27, 2017, 06:00
‘The French Art of War’ review: bold, brave, wayward and magnificent

Passchendaele: A killing field of mud
- Heritage
- May 22, 2017, 05:00
The most merciless enemy was the foul mud and with it the stink of wet rotting bodies

Richard Ford’s beautiful tribute to his parents
- Books
- May 20, 2017, 06:05
Between Them review: A new work from one of the finest writers of our times

The 7th Function of Language and Based on a True Story reviews: two French novels, only one success
- Books
- May 13, 2017, 04:00
Laurent Binet follows up ‘HHhH’ with an even funnier tale, but Delphine de Vigan struggles with her suspenseless thriller

Judas review: In Israel, who is betraying who?
- Books
- May 6, 2017, 04:00
Amos Oz returns to rougher roots with this deeply felt novel, writes Eileen Battersby

Fever Dream review: extraordinary work full of eerie menace
- Books
- April 29, 2017, 07:00
This daring, ambiguous thriller is an apocalyptic lamentation for a world in free fall

For A Little While review: rugged edge to US short story collection
- Books
- April 29, 2017, 04:00
Rick Bass’s generous volume includes new work and selected stories from past 30 years

Nothing on Earth: Irish Gothic with a Latin American feel
- Books
- April 28, 2017, 17:22
With its borderland setting, Conor O’Callaghan’s masterful debut calls to mind Ireland’s Disappeared

Ghachar Ghochar review: Literary perfection from Indian master
- Books
- April 22, 2017, 06:00
Vivek Shanbhag family tale is one of the finest literary works you will ever encounter

Childless women in an unforgiving society
- Books
- April 22, 2017, 04:00
Stay With Me review: Ayobami Adebayo’s enthralling debut strikes deep from outset

Man Booker International shortlist is an impressive final six
- Books
- April 20, 2017, 19:33
Veteran Amos Oz, along with favourite Mathias Énard and Argentine outsider Samanta Schweblin, in line for prize

In Extremis review: Meltdown of a spoiled Everyman
- Books
- April 15, 2017, 04:00
Humour and tenderness make for the finest book yet by underrated novelist Tim Parks

Anne Enright only Irish contender for Dublin literary award
- Books
- April 11, 2017, 00:01
‘The Sympathizer’ by Viet Thanh Nguyen is favourite on strong international shortlist

Sand review: hold on to your hats – and stomachs
- Books
- April 8, 2017, 04:00
Wolfgang Herrndorf’s brilliant, anarchic, darkly comic thriller is a true original

Thien leads shortlist for Baileys Women’s prize for Fiction
- Books
- April 3, 2017, 19:16
Three British writers among contenders as some big names omitted from final list

Compass review: A delightful odyssey into learning made easy
- Books
- April 1, 2017, 04:00
Reading Mathias Énard’s novel is like wandering into an exotic sweet shop, writes Eileen Battersby

Company K review: Dead quiet on the Western Front
- Books
- March 25, 2017, 04:00
On the centenary of the US entry into the First World War, Eileen Battersby revisits William March's stark classic

Eileen Battersby’s favourite sporting books
- Books
- March 24, 2017, 11:26
From boxing to racing and from fact to fiction, a personal selection of the greatest stories about sport

The Kingdom review: The gospel according to Emmanuel Carrère
- Books
- March 18, 2017, 04:00
The maverick French writer reimagines Christianity’s beginnings in a madly magical novel

Derek Walcott: exuberant poet in love with the magic of words
- Books
- March 17, 2017, 18:00
The Nobel laureate was funny, explosively opinionated, playful and occasionally outrageous

Man Booker International 2017 longlist includes Amos Oz and banned writer
- Books
- March 15, 2017, 10:00
Four potential Nobel literature laureates are in the running for the €57,000 prize

I believe my father was murdered by Turkish secret police
- Books
- March 13, 2017, 06:00
The daughter of Sabahattin Ali, author of surprise bestseller Madonna in a Fur Coat, recalls the day he died

A Natural review: the agony but not the ecstasy of a sporting life
- Books
- March 11, 2017, 06:00
Ross Raisin’s slow-moving third novel struggles to portray a terrified young soccer player

Eimear McBride on Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist
- Books
- March 8, 2017, 00:00
Irish author’s ‘The Lesser Bohemians’ faces competition from Atwood, Proulx and others

Exit West review: A migrant couple’s search for an open door
- Books
- March 4, 2017, 04:00
A brief, polemical fable that puts the reality of the refugee crisis into sharp relief

Casey Affleck deserves the Oscar, not to be hounded over sex allegations
- Film
- February 26, 2017, 13:00
Does one have to be without sin, stain or misdemeanour to earn an Oscar?

Memoirs of a Polar Bear review: an animal for remembering
- Books
- February 25, 2017, 06:00
Yoko Tawada’s whimsical ursine family saga expresses a powerful sense of justice

The Refugees review: Insight into belonging without losing identity
- Books
- February 18, 2017, 04:00
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut collection is a timely look at lives of outsiders in America

Book lovers: Eileen Battersby’s Valentine’s Day reads
- Books
- February 14, 2017, 13:03
From Persuasion to Wuthering Heights, The Dead to Le Grand Meaulnes, make a date with one of these classics

The Last Wolf review: an intoxicating adventure
- Books
- February 11, 2017, 00:00
László Krasznahorkai is the undisputed laureate of our deranged, vulnerable epoch

Kruso review: A fall from grace before the fall of the wall
- Books
- February 4, 2017, 06:00
Poet Lutz Seiler’s debut novel is an exciting, expansive work of German literature, writes Eileen Battersby

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson review: more winsome than profound
- Books
- February 2, 2017, 12:00
Despite the obvious thematic comparisons, Woodson’s prose lacks the daunting power of Toni Morrison’s sophisticated lyricism

Ashland & Vine review: John Burnside’s new novel fails to convince
- Books
- January 28, 2017, 05:00
Scottish poet’s foray into post-second World War US history is disappointingly contrived

From 1984 to Brave New World: six of the best books to read in Trumpian times
- Books
- January 25, 2017, 16:41
There has been a surge in sales of George Orwell’s 1984 following Donald Trump’s election as US president

The End of Eddy review: Life in a northern homophobic town
- Books
- January 21, 2017, 05:00
Édouard Louis’s intensely autobiographical novel spares no one, including the reader, writes Eileen Battersby

The Golden Legend review: creation and destruction in Pakistan
- Books
- January 14, 2017, 05:00
Beauty is confronted by terrorism in Nadeem Aslam’s certain Man Booker contender

Maeve Brennan: loneliness elevated to an art form
- Books
- January 6, 2017, 05:00
Eileen Battersby reviews The Long-Winded Lady, Maeve Brennan’s New Yorker sketches, as part of our extensive coverage marking toda(...)

Eileen Battersby: When Anthony Cronin dismissed me as an idiot
- Books
- December 28, 2016, 20:08
Complete and formidable literary man whose intelligence never overpowered his art

Life Begins on Friday review: well-spun Dickensian Christmas yarn
- Books
- December 24, 2016, 05:00
Romanian author Ioana Parvulescu has crafted a rare delight full of old world charm

Newgrange revelations do not deter solstice-watchers
- Irish News
- December 21, 2016, 15:13
Pilgrims to the Co Meath monument are tough and seemingly impervious to theories

Eileen Battersby’s favourite fiction and nonfiction of 2016
- Books
- December 17, 2016, 06:00
The year’s best novels, collections, memoirs and translations range around the world

The Seamstress and the Wind review: Comic mayhem at Argentina’s dark heart
- Books
- December 10, 2016, 05:00
César Aira’s fantastical nightmare is an elegy for the Disappeared, writes Eileen Battersby

Three Loves, One Death review: Freedom as a terrifying burden
- Books
- December 3, 2016, 05:00
The Slovenian writer Evald Flisar plays with light and dark, the fantastical and the believable

Of All That Ends review: A fitting final farewell from Günter Grass
- Books
- November 26, 2016, 05:00
Nobel Prize-winning author’s posthumous collection of mediations is witty and touching
Cove by Cynan Jones
- Books
- November 26, 2016, 00:00
Browser review

William Trevor made the ordinary and familiar, new and shocking
- Books
- November 21, 2016, 20:01
Trevor was a world class writer who chronicled the lives of the forgotten, the despairing losers, the innocent and the devious, th(...)

A timely literary road trip around the world
- Books
- November 21, 2016, 15:00
The 147 titles on the International Dublin Literary Award longlist are a treasure trove of great reading

Seven Irish writers on longlist for world’s richest literary prize
- Books
- November 21, 2016, 10:58
John Banville, Kevin Barry, Sara Baume, Anne Enright, Louise O’Neill, Nuala O’Connor and Edna O’Brien on 147-strong longlist

Still the Same Man review: a life spent seething
- Books
- November 19, 2016, 05:00
Jon Bilbao’s original, caustic revenge tragedy shows that everyone has their limits
Reunion by Fred Uhlman
- Books
- November 19, 2016, 00:00
Browser review

Leonard Cohen’s Yeats pilgrimage: how the singer was drawn to Lissadell
- Music
- November 12, 2016, 06:00
Owners of historic Sligo house recall the dream concerts the singer played in 2010

The Evenings review: A masterwork of comic pathos
- Books
- November 12, 2016, 05:00
It should be acknowledged as one of the finest studies of youthful malaise ever written
In the Middle of the Fields by Mary Lavin
- Books
- November 12, 2016, 00:00
Browser review

War dead honoured in Remembrance Day concert
- Irish News
- November 11, 2016, 20:00
Programme dedicated to memory of those killed on the Somme and in Easter Rising

An idiot’s guide to winning the US presidency
- TV, Radio, Web
- November 10, 2016, 15:30
How to win the US presidency in 10 easy steps – Step one: Aim for confusion...

Eileen Battersby: How can America begin to heal?
- US
- November 9, 2016, 07:32
Where to now after one of the most corrosive US presidential elections in history

Miss Jane by Brad Watson review: Making strange in hardscrabble Mississippi
- Books
- November 5, 2016, 05:00
Brad Watson’s novel of a young woman who never gives up shimmers with quiet humanity

Translations bring to light Dutch women writers from different eras
- Books
- November 5, 2016, 00:00
Betrayal and revenge drive powerful novels by Ida Simons and Wytske Versteeg

A Horse Walks into a Bar review: a polemic of unusual power
- Books
- October 29, 2016, 05:00
David Grossman’s novel about a stand-up comedian is shocking, raw and eloquent

Man Booker prize: Paul Beatty wins with The Sellout
- Books
- October 25, 2016, 21:47
Author wins for satire on race in the US and becomes first American to win prize

The Visiting Privilege review: Living in a downward spiral
- Books
- October 22, 2016, 05:00
Joy Williams’s latest infrequent collection is so good we hardly know where to start raving first

His Bloody Project review: In cold blood in the Highlands
- Books
- October 15, 2016, 05:00
Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Booker nominee is a bloody thrilling true-life crime story
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
- Books
- October 15, 2016, 00:00
Browser review

Bob Dylan’s Nobel: Better to have gone to a ‘complete unknown’?
- Culture
- October 13, 2016, 19:06
If the academy wanted to honour a music icon, Paul Simon would be a better choice

Nightmare in Berlin by Hans Fallada review: adrift in a country out of control
- Books
- October 8, 2016, 05:00
Allan Blunden’s brilliant translation conveys the turmoil of a strange, extraordinary novel about a post-war Germany faced with th(...)

The Underground Railroad review: The run of her life
- Books
- October 1, 2016, 05:00
Eileen Battersby says Colson Whitehead’s gripping slavery epic should be read by everyone
Echoland by Per Petterson, translated by Don Bartlett
- Books
- October 1, 2016, 05:00
Browser review

Thirty Days review: Alphonse and the human face of Flanders
- Books
- September 24, 2016, 05:00
Annelies Verbeke’s fearless, intelligent novel follows the fortunes of a kindly decorator

Pianist Angela Hewitt begins Bach Odyssey in Ireland
- Music
- September 18, 2016, 06:00
Classical legend’s first concert kicks off all 141 of Bach’s solo works for keyboard