A selection of the latest releases reviewed
A Jury of Her Peers
Elaine Showalter
Virago, £14.99
In her introduction to this mighty casebook of American women's writing since the 1600s Showalter tells us she had no theoretical, political or visionary idea in her selection of authors for inclusion. But she emphasises how ruggedly demanding were negotiation of publication, critical judgment and audience reception for women writers. The 20 chapters are chronological, but the great appeal of the book lies with the thematic, cultural and literary commentary on individual writers' lives and times. Though Showalter never flinches from including her concern about how anatomy determines destiny, she lavishes most attention on style and plot synopses. Her prose is engaging, opinionated and scholarly, often laced with a happy knack for the apt, vivid quote: "Andrea Barrett (1954-) 'wanted to be a Darwin in a skirt, wandering through the Galapagos'." While this is a readers' reference book, and the author's scholar peers may read literary criticism elsewhere, they will appreciate having information on so many writers between the covers of one book. Kate Bateman
The Ship of Seven Murders
Alannah Hopkin with Kathy Bunney
Collins Press, €12.99
The Mary Russellleft Barbados on May 9th, 1828, to sail home to Cork. The ship had four passengers and a crew of nine, captained by William Stewart, "an experienced mariner, known for his humanity and kindness", not very common traits among ships' captains at the time. By the time it arrived in Cork, on June 25th, seven of those aboard had been beaten to death by Capt Stewart. A dream seems to have made him believe that the crew planned a mutiny. The story of the horrific murders of seven innocent men aboard the Mary Russellis unfolded in gruesome and suspense-laden detail. The trial that followed was so sensational that it took precedence in newspaper headlines over Daniel O'Connell's campaign for Catholic emancipation. The tragic event's context in folklore and history is also explained in this engrossing account. Brian Maye
Presence: Collected Stories
Arthur Miller
Bloomsbury, £9.99
Written between 1959 and 1992, the stories in this breathtaking series of meditations on the frailties and self-doubts, but ultimately redemptive possibilities, of humankind range widely in subject matter: the unremarkable second World War ship-fitter in the Brooklyn naval yard who finds dignity through work, and the brooding masculinity explored in The Misfits, an early version of the film that starred Miller's wife Marilyn Monroe. Embedded in these snapshots of US life are the deeper themes familiar from Miller's great dramatic works, such as the conflict between private and public identities, and class and sexual politics. But in their subtle depiction of the epiphanies that can elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary they are much more timeless reflections on the human condition than narratives bound by a specific time or place. Suzanne Lynch
The Companion
Lorcan Roche
Europa Editions, $15
This novel by the Dublin writer Lorcan Roche is a tragicomic meditation on loneliness, dislocation and death, with a streak of jet-black humour running throughout. It is the tale of Trevor, who, in self-imposed exile from a crumbling life in Ireland, takes up a position as carer and confident to Ed, a wealthy New York teenager with muscular dystrophy. Trevor is haunted by the projections of his own constantly whirring mind, bleak memories and preoccupations, whether in the shape of lingering visions of his mother's premature death or flashes of brutal violence from the past. Each of Roche's characters, from his oversized protagonist to the many jaded women who drift in and out of his life bestowing comfort and condemnation in equal measure, is grotesque in some respect. Yet Trevor's engaging narrative voice, which blends colloquial freshness with philosophical depth, imbues the story with a warmth and a poignancy that elevate it above mere caustic observance to examine the nature of purpose in an arbitrarily cruel world. Dan Sheehan
Au Revoir to All That: The Rise and Fall of French Cuisine
Michael Steinberger
Bloomsbury, £8.99
There is a crisis in French gastronomy. Michelin is in an unsavoury hotpot, and the calamity is chronicled here by Michael Steinberger, an American foodie and devout Francophile. Steinberger traces the origins of haute cuisine from a 1651 cookbook, charting the big kahunas and supporting characters along the way. His cast features plucky artisan producers, wine terrorists and a Michelin chef or two. The bleak future says bonjourto le Big Mac, with "McDos" inhabiting the Louvre now. Sacre bleu! Steinberger presents himself as a passionate and entertaining guide. The personal is interwoven with his love affair with his wife and his lusting after praline millefeuilles from the Ladurée bakery. But this wine columnist is not all doom and gloom, spotting glimmers of hope in Japan, where chefs are taking on the tradition and doing it better than the French themselves. This is a very readable, superbly researched elegy that serves up more than a pinch of rage. Lorraine Courtney
