Lanny by Max Porter review: The accessible follow-up does not disappointJohn Boyne on a spellbinding second novel that is worth reading over and overSat Mar 09 2019 - 06:00
Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley review: a rather brilliant novelA man’s death exposes a surprising ugliness beneath the surface in this brilliant novelSat Feb 16 2019 - 06:00
My Coney Island Baby: unpretentious romance about a middle-aged love affairBilly O’Callaghan writes with elegance and wisdom about a complex love situationSat Jan 19 2019 - 06:00
How to Be Invisible by Kate Bush review: Not a spare word anywhereReading the lyrics is to experience Bush’s songs in an entirely new waySat Dec 08 2018 - 06:00
Middle England review: Delving into the heart of Brexit BritainJonathan Coe uses wit and insight to explore the historic prejudices behind the leave voteSat Nov 10 2018 - 06:00
Enigma Variations review: elegant exploration of gender-shifting loveAndré Aciman displays aching sensitivity as he delves into the emotional life of a cypherSat Nov 03 2018 - 05:55
After ‘The Book Thief’, a novel that has been a lifetime in the makingJohn Boyne: My friend Markus Zusak was born to write this riotous Australian epicSat Oct 13 2018 - 06:00
French Exit by Patrick deWitt: laughter all the wayDespite its daft adventures, good jokes and amusing characters, the story floundersSat Sept 22 2018 - 06:00
Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks: A return to France and a return to formReview: John Boyne on an erudite and enjoyable tale of lost souls in the French capitalSat Sept 08 2018 - 06:00
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller: inescapably great storytellingThe Costa and Impac winning novelist plays with the past in this tale of war and retributionSat Aug 25 2018 - 06:00
Calypso by David Sedaris: grief, humour and an unromantic proposalThere is more sorrow in this collection of essays than in his previous works, as it deals with the aftermath of his sister’s suicide, but plenty of witty observations tooSat Jul 07 2018 - 06:00
History of Violence review: a captivating, rawly honest bookJohn Boyne on Édouard Louis’s deeply emotional follow-up to The End of EddySat Jun 16 2018 - 06:00
Last Stories by William Trevor: a final treatTrevor’s stories are full of characters on the fringes of society and their random encountersSat May 26 2018 - 06:00
The Nine-Chambered Heart: a sublime character studyJanice Pariat’s second novel lets nine narrators tell the story while never losing the readerSat May 19 2018 - 06:00
The Chameleon by Samuel Fisher review – witty, cerebral and completely in control of its storyThe whole thing is written with such a sense of cheerful eccentricity that it’s impossible not to be swept along by the charm of the narratorSat Apr 14 2018 - 06:00
Two Irish writers shortlisted for Dublin Literary AwardWomen outnumber men for first time at the top international literary award with one of the richest literary prizes in the world worth €100,000Thu Apr 05 2018 - 00:05
Shelfies with Irish writers: how the literati keep their libraries in orderSelf-confessed shelf addict John Boyne checks out how fellow authors like to stackSat Mar 31 2018 - 06:00
The Friendly Ones review: Philip Hensher skilfully combines his twin themesJohn Boyne on a novel of family life, exile and conflict between siblingsSat Mar 17 2018 - 06:00
Only Child by Rhiannon Navin review – troubling book about school shootingGreat child’s perspective of massacre but author cowardly on US gun controlSat Mar 03 2018 - 06:00
I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake review: City of Light proves dark for teenage voyeurMind of the most troublesome of creatures, the teenage boy, is explored in this unrelenting bleak novelSat Feb 10 2018 - 06:00
The Hoarder is a stockpile of claustrophobic horrorMelancholy hangs over every page of Jess Kidd’s fine novelSat Feb 03 2018 - 06:00
Girl in Snow review: a grim tale of murder in a small townBilled as thriller, this unhyped debut from 24-year-old Danya Kukafka is more of a three-character studySat Jan 13 2018 - 06:00
Turning for Home review: A sensitive portrait of fragmented lives after the TroublesSat Jan 06 2018 - 06:00
A Christmas story by Joseph O’Connor, Lisa McInerney, John Boyne, Emer McLysaght, Maeve Higgins and more...Ten writers play a game of pass the baton to create a Christmas mystery about an elf from Elphin and a magic crystalSat Dec 23 2017 - 06:00
The Travelling Cat Chronicles review: a touching story of friendshipHiro Arikawa’s episodic novel provides a fascinating insight into Japanese culture and traditionsSat Dec 16 2017 - 06:00
‘Twelve Irish writers, supposedly our greatest, and not a vagina between them’Male authors are always pronouncing their own brilliance. John Boyne would like to get something off his chestTue Dec 12 2017 - 10:44
As a God Might Be review: A novel written in good faithNeil Griffith’s novel struggled to find a publisher but deserves to find a readershipSat Dec 02 2017 - 06:00
‘Mad Men’ creator’s unsettling family novella will leave readers uncomfortable and impressed‘Heather, the Totality’ is quality fiction centering on a parents’ obsession with their daughterSat Nov 11 2017 - 06:00
The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth is diverting but sketchyWilliam Boyd’s mixed offering of short stories has moments of great excitementSat Nov 04 2017 - 06:00
Tom Hanks’s short story collection is like a box of chocolatesUncommon Type Review: While twee at times, the collection shows Hanks is more than an actorSat Oct 21 2017 - 06:00
Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley review: the importance of folklore proves the strongest refrain‘Devil’s Day’ is an assured follow-up to ‘The Loney’ that considers the themes of exile, mythology and rural traditionsSat Oct 14 2017 - 06:00
The Sparsholt Affair review: A blitz of gay longingAlan Hollinghurst is very good on aspects of gay life in a novel to admire, perhaps, rather than loveSat Oct 07 2017 - 06:00
Kazuo Ishiguro deserves Nobel prize but others deserve it moreJohn Boyne: He’s a supremely talented writer, but Atwood and Banville have a greater claimThu Oct 05 2017 - 13:45
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie: provocative work from a brave authorLonglisted for the Man Booker prize, this nuanced examination of the place of Muslims in a hostile world will infuriate some readers and win the hearts of othersSat Aug 26 2017 - 06:00
The Hidden Keys by André Alexis review: a playful tale of farce and dangerThe third in the author’s sequence of novels is a mystery about a secret inheritanceSat Aug 19 2017 - 06:00
Pachinko review: a masterpiece of empathy, integrity and family loyaltyMin Jin Lee tells an endearing tale of hardship and inhumanity suffered by KoreansSat Aug 05 2017 - 06:00
The Zoo review: John Boyne on a jovial guide through Stalinism’s dying daysChristopher Wilson has written an entertaining but unremarkable political satireSat Jul 22 2017 - 06:00
At Swim, Two Boys is a great Irish novel, a gay love story but so much moreJohn Boyne: Jamie O’Neill’s masterpiece was first great Irish novel of new millenniumWed Jul 19 2017 - 10:06
How to Stop Time review: This novel is too short. (That’s a compliment)Matt Haig enjoys himself in this worthy addition to the time-travel canonSat Jul 08 2017 - 06:00
Arundhati Roy: 'It’s a hatred that crosses the line'Arundhati Roy’s new novel has made her a target for violent threats from the Indian government but she’s not about to back downSat Jun 24 2017 - 05:00
A good priest, an abuser and his victimsCrimes of the Father review: Thomas Keneally explores abuse and injustice in AustraliaSat Jun 17 2017 - 06:00
A History of Running Away review: ambitious and elegant interwoven talesPaula McGrath captures 1980s Dublin in a tale of middle age, an orphan and a boxerSat Jun 10 2017 - 06:00
Spoils review: A female soldier sees men ‘descend to the level of beasts’Ex-military man Brian Van Reet brings authenticity and urgency to his war novelSat Apr 29 2017 - 06:00
Let Go My Hand review: A grown-up love story between a father and his sonsIt’s a curious thing when a book about death can prove so life affirmingSat Apr 15 2017 - 06:00
First draft of ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ took me two daysAuthor John Boyne writes every day, and is ‘not sure what to do with days off’Mon Apr 03 2017 - 10:30
Larchfield review: John Boyne on a 'passionate and surprising debut'Polly Clark has re-created part of WH Auden’s life remarkably and movingly, says John BoyneSat Mar 25 2017 - 06:00
John Boyne: A tale of Manhattan, sex, drugs and AidsBook review: Tim Murphy’s novel about young New Yorkers treats the subject of Aids with deep respectSat Feb 25 2017 - 06:00
Homegoing review: Generations united and divided by colourYaa Gyasi’s striking debut novel traces racism from Africa to the US and back againSat Jan 07 2017 - 06:00
Nothing to Declare, a short story by John Boyne12 Stories of Christmas - Day 8: An old resentments boil over when two brothers from the same litter meet again by chanceTue Dec 27 2016 - 06:00
Swing Time review: Zadie Smith’s new novel can’t overcome faultsJohn Boyne is frustrated by an uninspiring narrator and condescencion towards AfricaSat Nov 12 2016 - 06:00
