A selection of paperbacks reviewed
The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq
Patrick Cockburn
Verso, £7.99
Journalist Patrick Cockburn has been covering the war in Iraq since 2003 and this book is a startling portrayal of a country in hell, thanks largely to ineptitude and arrogance on an appalling scale. The Iraq war must be one of the most extensively reported conflicts in history, but despite this Cockburn sheds new, unflinching light on a country on its knees and the process by which it got there. The painstaking detail that Cockburn has distilled here, and has written up in a most restrained way, by turns astounds and infuriates. After reading this book it seems almost impossible to fathom any reason the US could have for remaining in the country; while Washington may argue that to leave now would only lead to complete chaos, Cockburn's book indicates that that particular line in the sand was crossed long ago. Essential reading. Laurence Mackin
The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven
Alan Warner
Vintage, £7.99
Loathsome, morally bankrupt people are rarely as interesting as Manolo Follana, the central character in Alan Warner's fifth novel. Set in a small, provincial Mediterranean resort, the narrative begins when "Lollo" is diagnosed by his doctor friend with an unnamed condition (possibly HIV) that will eventually kill him. Enveloped with a stifling self pity, he looks back in vivid, snapshot detail at his relationships, especially his sexual ones, on what amounts to a voyage of self-discovery that is fittingly shallow and self-regarding. With his louche good looks, privileged background and misanthropic air he is saved - and the narrative propelled - by the melancholia and sadness that pervades this provocative and challenging read . Bernice Harrison
We Are Gold
Alice Chambers
New Island, €12.95
The Gold family is shaken to its foundations by the sudden death of 23-year-old Hannah; mother of Jack, beloved daughter of Rose and Henry, sister of Omega and Dawn. Each member of this untypical Dublin family deals with life after death in their own quirky way. Rose's daily poems punctuate the story with little musings on life and bereavement, while Henry's ever- increasing introspection threatens to cut him off from reality. Omega tries, rather half-heartedly, to reopen communication with his wife, who has fled to Paris. His sister Dawn tries to deal with the physical manifestation of Mediterranean romance that has appeared on her doorstep. Young Jack decides that being his five year-old self is the best job he can do. Alice Chambers' first novel has been done a disservice with the layout, which chops paragraphs up so that it is difficult to get into a good reading groove, but it is a worthy debut. Claire Looby
Napoleon's Master: A Life of Prince Talleyrand
David Lawday
Pimlico, £14.99
Talleyrand was a consummate diplomat who served many masters. An aristocrat, he rode the waves of upheaval of the French Revolution and Napoleon's coming to power, becoming le petit caporal's chief adviser. Yet, in 1809, Napoleon rushed back to Paris from his war in Spain because of rumours of plots against him and threatened Talleyrand with execution, calling him "a shit in a silk stocking". From that point on, Talleyrand made the fall of Napoleon his mission, not for personal vengeance but because of a "hunger for peace and a return to the civilised world he prizes". The pair's relationship couldn't but have been "mutually faithless" - Napoleon stood for war and Talleyrand for peace - but it was perverse and addictive. Lawday's book is a lively, enjoyable read that certainly gets to the core of its subject. Brian Maye
Rock Me Amadeus
Seb Hunter
Penguin, £8.99
Thirtysomething British journalist Seb Hunter is a pop music junkie who spends most of his disposable income on CDs and concerts. He's also a high-culture ignoramus. But a curiosity about how the snooty other half lives down there in the glassed-off section of HMV inspires Seb to go cold turkey on pop and rock and immerse himself in classical music, to learn to love the form even if it doesn't love him. Accompanied by various drinking buddies and his long-suffering wife, Faye, Hunter sets off on an irony-laced quest across Europe to trace the history of classical, from its 12th-century origins to the BBC Proms of today. At the end of it, Seb can enter the glassed-off basement and "it holds almost no fear for me - indeed, I've begun to swagger". Even though you know he's taking the mick most of the time, this rambling cultural travelogue is funny, engaging and informative. Kevin Sweeney
Selling Olga
Louisa Waugh
Phoenix, £8.99
Human trafficking; forced labour; today's shamefully flourishing slave trade: given the topic, one might expect this to be a relentlessly bleak and gruelling read. However, Waugh manages to produce an account which is both serious and surprisingly readable. With astuteness and sensitivity she evokes the people and places she encountered during a three-year investigation into the desperate realities of human trafficking and offers first-hand insight into the small- and large-scale repercussions and the complex social factors behind the terrible, booming trade in modern-day slavery. She relates a variety of interviews with trafficking victims, politicians and NGO spokespeople. While she draws attention to the hidden, or ignored, contributions of the passive consumer, this is no exercise in finger-pointing - instead, the tenor is one of encouragement and measured optimism: consciousness-raising as a first step to change. Claire Anderson-Wheeler