Tonight the Music Seems So Loud – The Meaning of George Michael: a sharp and smart analysis
Critic Sathnam Sanghera responds to a feeling there has never been a serious examination of George Michael the music-maker
Book Reviews
Local history: Empowering women, a Quaker education, and a varied tasting menu of church longevity
A History of Down High School, 200 years of the Impartial Reporter, and A History of First Presbyterian Church Armagh
The Coast of Everything by Guillermo Stitch: commendably brave but frustrating
Rather than being transported by this 750-pager, one has the sense of being trapped within an elaborate in-joke
Hey Man by Andrew Meehan: A lyrical novel full of movingly insightful observations
Although some might find the style of this novel about the love between two male friends a little too florid, the author pulls it off
Doing Good - How Ethical Capitalism Can Save Liberal Democracy: provocative, original but sometimes implausible
Book features an account of disruption and changes confronting societies - the author is emphatic that further upheaval is not the answer
My Greatest Race by Ciara Mageean review: A memoir about athletics, cancer and identity
Mageean’s memoir is a testament to determination, ambition and resilience
How Lucy Grealy created one of the most powerful patient narratives ever written
Autobiography of a Face details with visceral accuracy one woman’s experience of living with rare bone cancer
Translated fiction: Tie Ning’s The Passage of Roses is a deeply impressive accomplishment
Plus works by Sara Mesa; Inès Cagnati; Eugenia Ladra; Eva Vezhnavets; and Alejandra Kamiya
Fantastic Kingdom by Helene von Bismarck: Knowledgeable treatise on harm done by Brexit
A writer perfectly placed to examine the impact of this ‘act of self-harm’
The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard: A Danish journalist catches the bug
The author sets out to track down all the 65 native species of butterfly in a single summer
The End of Everything by M John Harrison: A rudderless spin on the post-apocalyptic story
Sci-fi tale is a memorable, haunting work, but stop-start narrative makes it hard for readers to engage
The Ballad of Ronan McCoy by Colin Morgan: An empathetic and thoughtful debut from actor
A tender coming-of-age novel about friendship, grief and the difficult work of carrying on
Reviews in brief: The Magical Writings of W.B. Yeats, On Land and Water and The Nun of Ravensbrück
New books from John Michael Greer, Sheena Jolley, D.J. O’Sullivan and Cathi Fleming
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer - A quirky and comprehensive biography
Most vivid sections of this biography concern Blume’s early years
To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage: A jubilant cosmic coming of age
It’s refreshing to read a novel that addresses life’s difficulties without being tormented
Braver New World by John Kampfner: Enlightenment under threat
The active narration ensures the reader is right by the author’s side through this epic journey of discovery
Awake, Awake by Fiona Mozley: An introspective and intelligent novel
Reflecting on the impact of friendships formed in childhood and of past events that we witness and study
Experts in a Dying Field by Patrick Freyne: A debut novel of charm, melancholy and magic
This Dublin music scene fable enables the reader to experience a full kaleidoscopic account of the butterfly effect of human behaviour
Best crime fiction: A fascinating new detective and a poison pen letter to Los Angeles
Gripping new works by Dervla McTiernan, Jess Kidd, Chris Brookmyre, Michelle McDonagh and Jordan Harper
Michael Collins’s Pope Leo XIV biography traces rise of first American pontiff
Dublin priest’s study examines how Robert Prevost emerged from Chicago, Peru and Rome to the papacy
Reviews in brief: The Pilgrimage, Stalin’s Apostles and The Asset Class
New books from John Broderick, Antonia Senior and Hettie O’Brien
Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind – An intellectual menagerie
This strange beast of a book constantly flits between anthropology, neuroscience and cultural studies
Farming in Ireland. Crisis and Climate: Lived experience of our rural hinterland
Reflections on fraying communal bonds as a consequence of modernity
Walter Benjamin by Peter Gordon: A compelling read
A new biography of a significant 20th-century philosopher
Blasket Bound by Lesley Bond: Ancient place seen from a new perspective
The author and her husband were selected to be the island’s first caretakers in 2019
After the Fall by Ian Shapiro: Thought-provoking guide to how the world got into this mess
The path that led to Donald Trump and current crises was forged decades ago by the missteps and missed opportunities of other leaders
Growth, Democracy, or Climate Action? The New Political Trilemma of Advanced Capitalism
A well-debated book that draws the reader in
Irish Anthropocene - Literature, Climate Change, Sovereignty: Meditation on words and nature
Tracing the path of a global issue through accomplished writers
American Hope by Christopher Lamb: Is Leo the right pope at the right time?
Lamb’s enlightening book prompts optimism
Latest sci-fi: Future lifeforms, ‘Indiana Jones’ in space and a woman’s reluctance to save mankind
New Novels from Portia Elan, Brandon Sanderson, Susan Ertz, Mahmud El Sayed and a collection edited by Ronald A Geobey
People Like Us by Julie Parsons: A life formed around a deeply personal mystery
This nonfiction outing is a story of loss and of the tightly interconnected milieu of the south Dublin Protestant
Unmasking Samantha Cookes: Superb exposé of a spiralling conwoman
Bradley writes brilliantly, setting out the facts with the poise of a forensic investigator and the pacing of a thriller writer
Summer YA reading: Romeo and Juliet meet at a death resort while teenagers take over the world
The latest from Kelly McCaughrain, Soman Chainani, Caitlin Devlin, Beth Steiner and newcomer to the genre Tig Wallace
Whistler by Ann Patchett: a lesser-told love story between step-parents and stepchildren
Ultimately Whistler itself is a testament to the transformative power of storytelling
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
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices