
‘The Lido’ by Libby Page: Feel-good fare that fails to live up to hype
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- April 21, 2018, 05:24
Debut novel already lined up for film version lacks the style of less heralded new releases

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce review – Letters from the home front
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- April 14, 2018, 05:24
A plucky female heroine helps a war-torn London in a highly original debut

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton review
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- April 7, 2018, 05:24
A captivating generational tale about the impact of racism in the American South

Kit de Waal: The Trick to Time review - In search of lost time
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- March 31, 2018, 05:24
The Trick to Time review: A beguiling, simple story that hides a tricksy, troubled tale

Tangerine by Christine Mangan: debut thriller tries to do too much
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- March 24, 2018, 05:24
Morocco in the 1950s is a captivating setting for this uneven but admirably sinister novel

The Eight Mountains review: An arduous ascent into adulthood
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- March 17, 2018, 06:00
Paolo Cognetti’s coming-of-age in the Alps story is vividly rendered and wonderfully lucid

The Dinner Guest review – An angel at the table
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- March 10, 2018, 05:24
Gabriela Ybarra’s captivating debut is written with the forensic eye of a true crime writer
Mothers by Chris Power review – lonely voices living in a maternal world
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- March 3, 2018, 05:24
Power's affinity with the short story form comes through in this debut collection

Sight by Jessie Greengrass review – Eyes wide open
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- February 24, 2018, 05:24
A slow burning, beautifully written debut on the art of reflection

Silence Under a Stone review: Insipid storyline with a morose character
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- February 17, 2018, 05:24
A staunch Presbyterian woman shows little mercy to her loved ones, or the reader

Restless Souls by Dan Sheehan review – friendship, memory and human capacity for endurance
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- February 10, 2018, 05:24
An uneven debut set between ’90s Ireland, California and Eastern Europe tries to cram in too much

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht review: A sea of troubles
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- February 3, 2018, 05:24
The plight of Korea's 'comfort women' hits home in a thought-provoking debut

A grim dystopian Ireland that is all too believable
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- January 27, 2018, 06:00
Review: The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow, a debut novel by Cork author Danny Denton

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock review: Historical fiction at its finest
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- January 20, 2018, 06:00
A stellar debut set in Georgian London blends mythical sea creatures and merchant life

Lullaby by Leïla Slimani review: Meet the help from hell
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- January 13, 2018, 06:00
The ‘French Gone Girl’ is a tense and evocative tale of a nanny’s descent into murder

Peach review: Emma Glass’s visceral debut bears strange fruit
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- January 6, 2018, 06:00
An extraordinary, powerful debut that looks at the aftermath of a rape

The Afterlives review: inventive journey into the unknown
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- December 30, 2017, 06:00
Life after death makes for an engaging topic in an imaginative and funny debut

Everything Must Go review: Jenny Fran Davis’s millennial meat market
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- December 16, 2017, 06:00
An inventive debut about the conflicting impulses of smart millennial women
The best books of 2017: have you missed something great?
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- December 9, 2017, 06:00
The year’s best novels and collections from emerging authors at home and abroad

The Floating World review: Shelter from the storm
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- December 2, 2017, 06:00
New fiction: An excellent debut charts a family’s chaos in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Bank Holiday Hurricane review: A memorable first collection
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- November 25, 2017, 00:00
A Belfast writer’s striking debut collection of stories shows much potential

The Maid’s Room review: Details drown a worthy debut
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- November 18, 2017, 00:00
Too much information and stilted dialogue spoil this tale of exploitation in Singapore

New Fiction: Bonfire review
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- November 11, 2017, 06:00
‘Marvel’ actress Krysten Ritter sets high school past on fire with debut thriller

Histories review: Short, hypnotic insights from the heart of a hospital
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- November 4, 2017, 06:00
A consultant oncologist's debut gives a detailed picture of medical life in interlinked stories

Blindboy Boatclub book: A mixed plastic bag of mad ideas
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- October 28, 2017, 06:00
This debut collection is big on creativity but, overall, short on satisfaction

Sugar Money review: vivid depiction of Caribbean slavery
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- October 21, 2017, 06:00
Jane Harris’s third novel is an unashamedly old-school adventure story in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
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- October 14, 2017, 06:00
The captivating Man Booker shortlisted debut explores the arbitrary nature of justice and the difference between action and though(...)

In White Ink by Elske Rahill
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- October 7, 2017, 06:00
A captivating collection of modern motherhood and marriage with plenty of heart

The Leavers review: A riveting tale of immigrants in New York
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- September 30, 2017, 06:00
This stunning and fearless debut novel is about adoption and the desire to belong

One Star Awake by Andrew Meehan: Blackout in the city of light
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- September 23, 2017, 06:00
A debut novel from an Irish author shines on the subjects of trauma and memory loss

The Taste of Blue Light: An original take on trauma and memory loss
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- September 16, 2017, 06:00
The restorative power of art gets a colourful makeover in this debut YA novel

My Absolute Darling: A compelling debut about horribly tainted love
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- September 9, 2017, 06:00
A remarkable California teen comes to a realisation about her predatory father

We That Are Young review: Whips up a frenzy of injustice
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- September 2, 2017, 06:00
A vivid retelling of Shakespeare’s Lear set in contemporary India by Preti Taneja

Elmet review: There will be blood on the Booker longlist
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- August 19, 2017, 00:00
A marginalised Yorkshire family battle their community in a well-written but flawed debut from Fiona Mozley

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang: a hilarious and highly original debut collection
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- August 19, 2017, 00:00
Sharp and unflinching portraits of Chinese immigrant families in the US

The Watch House review: A very sharp turn on Rathlin island
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- August 12, 2017, 00:00
Bernie McGill’s novel about glic women during the advent of radio has a beguiling protagonist

The Upstairs Room review: a family and disturbing home truths
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- August 5, 2017, 06:00
Kate Murray-Browne finds illness and dread as a family moves house in London

Stories to soothe a bitter sea
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- July 29, 2017, 06:00
The power of the imagination shines in a captivating debut on the Yorkshire coast

Eleanor Oliphant is a most unusual and thought-provoking heroine
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- July 22, 2017, 06:00
Gail Honeyman’s moving, inventive debut is about a young woman set apart from society because of trauma

No Filter review: Blurred visions in post-crash Ireland
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- July 15, 2017, 06:00
Orlagh Collins’ debut YA novel gives a snapshot of everything from bankruptcy to first love

Zinzi Clemmons: Mother courage in ‘What we lose’
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- July 8, 2017, 06:00
Private and public grief come together in an engaging new novel about loss

New fiction review: Room Little Darker by June Caldwell
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- July 1, 2017, 06:00
It is fifty shades darker as submissive sex and rubber-clad gimps vie for attention

High-flying romance in an uplifting debut from Eithne Shortall
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- June 24, 2017, 06:00
Love in Row 27 brings the First Dates formula to the skies

The Weight of Him review: Sometimes heavy-handed examination of teen suicide
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- June 17, 2017, 06:00
Ethel Ronan’s debut sees an overweight father trying to make sense of his son’s suicide

This Tumult review: The cost of blind obedience
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- June 10, 2017, 06:00
Debut novel looks at the different roles that one Irish family adopts during second World War

Sally Rooney’s debut novel is fearless, sensual writing
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- June 5, 2017, 06:00
‘Conversations with Friends review: Sally Rooney offers searing insights on affairs and relationships

Sorry to Disrupt the Peace review
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- May 27, 2017, 06:00
A highly unorthodox detective story sees a bipolar woman investigate her brother’s suicide

The Dead House review: Odd blend of naturalistic and uncanny
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- May 20, 2017, 06:00
Debut novel from acclaimed short-story writer Billy O’Callaghan lacks finesse

The Iron Age review: steely portrait of postwar Finland
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- May 13, 2017, 06:00
Arja Kajermo uses fable and charming illustrations to bring a family’s struggles to life

After the amputation: a powerful rendering of disability
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- May 6, 2017, 06:00
Hopdance review: Stewart Parker’s posthumous memoir novel captures figments of a lost year

Harvesting review: Lifting the lid on sex trafficking in Ireland
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- April 29, 2017, 06:00
Actor Lisa Harding’s debut novel is character-driven and highly dramatic

Teenage brothers on the run with an addict father
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- April 22, 2017, 06:00
One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel review: an emotional tale

How to Be Human review: An unusual date for another mad Mary
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- April 15, 2017, 06:00
Paula Cocozza’s beguiling first novel charts the love affair between a lonely woman and a flirtatiously fantastic fox

Skintown review: Pills ‘n’ thrills and bellyaches
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- April 8, 2017, 06:00
Actor Ciarán McMenamin’s debut captures the voice of disaffected youth in 1990s North

The Possessions review: sexual obsession from beyond the grave
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- April 1, 2017, 06:00
Sara Flannery Murphy’s intriguing debut merges the worlds of the living and the dead

Edith & Oliver review: Illusions of grandeur
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- March 25, 2017, 06:00
Michèle Forbes’s story of a doomed romance in the vaudeville world lacks a magic spark

Here Comes the Sun review: Used and abused in Jamaica
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- March 18, 2017, 06:00
Nicole Dennis-Benn’s first novel shines a light on tourism’s underbelly

Ithaca review: Fierce and funny modern odyssey
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- March 11, 2017, 06:00
Alan McMonagle’s enthralling debut follows an Irish teenager trying to imagine a better life

10 great books by Irish women
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- March 8, 2017, 05:30
In the final part of our series on influential books by women writers, we focus on Irish authors

Under the Almond Tree review: A teenage refugee’s tale
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- March 6, 2017, 10:00
An Afghan family fleeing the Taliban in the 1990s take refuge on an endless train journey

A young Dublin feminist who prefers poison to piano
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- February 25, 2017, 06:00
Review: The Coroner’s Daughter is a gory, frenetic but tongue-in-cheek murder tale set in 1816 Dublin

You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine review: Suffering single white females
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- February 18, 2017, 06:00
Alexandra Kleeman’s disturbing dystopia takes on body image and the beauty myth

Black Wave review: From hedonism to the apocalypse
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- February 11, 2017, 06:00
American LGBT writer Michelle Tea takes a leap from memoir to something a tad more explosive

The Fractured Life of Jimmy Dice: twin peaks in family saga
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- February 4, 2017, 06:00
Ronan Ryan’s debut novel about the unlucky Diaz clan is compelling and compassionate

The One Memory of Flora Banks review: Firing on most cylinders
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- January 28, 2017, 05:00
Flaws aside, Emily Barr’s YA debut hums with an original plot and likable heroine

The Burning Ground review: Los Angeles stories with poetic vision
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- January 21, 2017, 05:00
From burnt-out businessmen to a sun-scorched surfing paradise, the city comes to life in Adam O’Riordan’s debut collection

Virgin and Other First Stories review: Feelings stripped to the bone
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- January 14, 2017, 05:00
Spiritual and sexual awakenings take a Gothic twist in April Ayers Lawson’s debut collection
What We Didn’t Say by Rory Dunlop
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- January 7, 2017, 06:00
Browser review

Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary review: Spinning hearts in 1980s Dublin
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- January 7, 2017, 05:00
A powerful debut about a doomed romance recalls the novels of Donal Ryan

Work Like Any Other review: Plenty of work, not much play
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- December 24, 2016, 05:00
Virginia Reeves’s Man Booker-longlisted debut is eloquently written but on the dull side

Trysting review: Snapshots of relationships’ myriad faces
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- December 17, 2016, 05:00
Emmanuelle Pagano’s latest book brings readers on rollercoaster of love’s highs and lows

Margaret the First review: The life and times of ‘Mad Madge’ Cavendish
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- December 10, 2016, 05:00
The protofeminist duchess is brilliantly realised in Danielle Dutton’s blackly funny novel

The Mothers by Brit Bennett review: a maternal chorus watches on
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- December 3, 2016, 05:00
A young American author’s brave debut tackles suicide, abortion and motherhood

Books: hits and misses in 2016
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- November 28, 2016, 00:00
From writers to politicians, the highs and lows of books they read

School of Velocity review: notes on a friendship
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- November 26, 2016, 05:00
A classical pianist looks back on his life in Eric Beck Rubin’s short, meditative novel

The Virginity of Famous Men review: Getting down and dirty
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- November 19, 2016, 05:00
Christine Sneed’s new collection uses sex to reveal sharp, funny insights into modern life

A Portable Shelter review
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- November 12, 2016, 05:00
New Fiction: Kirsy Logan’s imaginative collection highlights the importance of storytelling

Girl in Pieces review: writing that makes the cut
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- November 5, 2016, 05:00
Intimate, gritty novel offers a realistic account of self-harm – and a glimmer of hope

Ferenji review: This means war
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- October 29, 2016, 05:00
Helena Mulkerns’s engaging debut collection features stories set in conflict zones

Himself review: He sees dead people in Mayo
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- October 22, 2016, 05:00
Jess Kidd’s debut novel is atmospheric but too cliched to really score as mystery or drama

The Atomic Weight of Love review: fledgling feminism
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- October 15, 2016, 05:00
Elizabeth Church’s debut novel on nuclear war and women’s liberation fails to take flight

The Story of a Brief Marriage review: Till death do us part
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- October 8, 2016, 05:00
Anuk Arudpragasam explores what it means to be alive when war takes away our dignity

Spare and Found Parts review: adventures in a post-apocalyptic Dublin
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- September 24, 2016, 05:00
It’s a pity Sarah Maria Griffin’s imaginative young adult debut never quite hits its stride

Private Citizens review: ‘Middlemarch’ for millennials
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- September 24, 2016, 00:00
Tony Tulathimutte offers a comic portrait of privilege and friendship in noughties ’Frisco

The Abode of Fancy by Sam Coll review: a hugely impressive linguistic feat
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- September 17, 2016, 00:00
Fantasy and reality fuse in an ambitious and linguistically powerful Irish debut

Hostages by Oisín Fagan review: Taking no prisoners
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- September 10, 2016, 05:00
A near-future dystopia, an engaging short story debut mostly set in Meath

Paradise lost: the relative pain of the rich and poor
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- September 3, 2016, 05:00
A Cameroonian couple's American dreams are dashed amid the global financial crisis

The Comet Seekers review: The patterns in the stars
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- August 27, 2016, 05:00
Helen Sedgwick’s engaging debut, set in rural Ireland, maps out a constellation of lives over centuries

Constellation by Adrien Bosc review: mining wreckage of an air crash
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- August 20, 2016, 05:43
An engaging mix of reportage, fiction and historical writing, the story of a fatal flight filled with stars

The Countenance Divine review: Book of irrelevant revelations
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- August 13, 2016, 03:11
Four centuries of prophecies and punishment are depicted in this odd novel
Marlow’s Landing by Toby Vieira
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- August 6, 2016, 05:33
Browser review

The Tsar of Love and Techno review: Total totalitarian recall
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- August 6, 2016, 01:00
An American’s interlocking stories set in hardened Russia grip from the get-go

Nina Is Not OK review: Debut tackling big issues more than OK
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- July 30, 2016, 01:00
Comedian Shappi Khorsandi’s debut novel is a sharply observed coming-of-age tale

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew review: a child’s unrequited love in a hippie hell
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- July 23, 2016, 01:00
This atmospheric novel explores hippie living and maternal neglect in 1980s Australia

The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan review: explosive consequences
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- July 16, 2016, 01:00
Multiple viewpoints create a shrapnel-like effect in a novel about terrorism in India

Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan review
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- July 9, 2016, 01:00
Gilligan’s ‘literary fiction’ debut inventively connects up Ireland’s Jewish narratives

The Muse by Jessie Burton review: a touch of second-novel syndrome
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- July 2, 2016, 01:00
Flashes of brilliant writing are weighed down by the plot in ‘Miniaturist’ author’s new novel

The Girls by Emma Cline review: a debut brimming with intelligence and ideas
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- June 25, 2016, 01:00
Provocative coming-of-age tale inspired by the Manson murders deserves all the hype

World Refugee Day: 10 tales in literature
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- June 20, 2016, 14:15
The plight of refugees is back at the top of news bulletins but it has been a constant theme in modern literature as these 10 semi(...)

My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal review: brotherly love under threat
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- June 18, 2016, 01:05
A moving, understated novel shows sympathy for the mother of all neglectful mothers