New poetry: Alia Kobuszko; John F Deane; Ruth Carr; and Tom Paulin’s razor-sharp return
Dream Latitudes, Jonah and Me, Catching the Missing Beat and Namanlagh reviewed
Book Reviews
Alexandre Kojève, An Intellectual Biography by Boris Groys: alternative world visions
Beyond his notorious ‘end of history’ thesis, the views of the Russian-born philosopher changed considerably over his life
Fawning by Dr Ingrid Clayton: focusing on a common but overlooked trauma response
For those who are overly agreeable, accommodating and inclined towards people-pleasing
Life in Progress by Hans Ulrich Obrist: from budding enthusiast to art world titan
Unconventional and entertaining memoir by man often credited as the inventor of modern curation
Night Vision by Jean Sprackland: An essay collection filled with light and shade
An evocative and ambitious study of a state that makes up half of human experience
Rewiring Democracy: ‘Citizen acceptance and trust in AI matters as much as AI capabilities’
The authors’ excitement for artificial intelligence is infectious and their understanding affords a glimpse beyond the hazards
Magic Maker by Pam Grossman: this word-witch doesn’t disappoint
The occult author weaves a cloak of enchantment for anyone intrigued by the notion that creativity is an expression of both intellect and spirit
Books in brief: The Hare’s Corner, Making Space for Nature; Grand Rapids; and The Marionette and the Maestro
New works by Jane Clarke and Catherine Cleary, Natasha Stagg, and Tanya Farrelly
The Irish Revolution: How the diaspora helped make independence an international affair
New collection of essays dwells comprehensively on role of Irish overseas during revolutionary period
The 1920s London Irish Theatre: Abbey’s difficulty was England’s opportunity
Nelson O’Ceallaigh Ritschel’s history shows extent to which Irish drama was important in London
The Slicks: A hopefully intentionally unserious book on Taylor Swift and Sylvia Plath
Finishing Maggie Nelson’s brief new book, I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety emanating from its pages
Local history round-up: From fairy mischief to the good and bad of Galway
Plus: fascinating sites in each county, Northern Irish eccentricities and six millenniums of Knowth
Palaver by Bryan Washington: Mother and man-child reunion
Set in Tokyo, this tale of a whiny son forced to sleep on the pull-out sofa could do with lightening up
How the West misjudged Russia’s dissidents and helped shape Putin’s rise as Soviet Union fell
Mikhail Zygar’s latest book revisits the figures who defined the USSR’s last years and the turbulent decades that followed
Rónán Hession on January’s best fiction in translation: ‘Chinese writing is the most interesting literature being produced today’
Works by Solvej Balle, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Ágota Kristóf, Rene Karabas and Ning Ken
Fair Doses: The global race for Covid-19 vaccines and lessons the world needs to learn
A former Gavi chief executive, Seth Berkley, offers a firsthand account of the scramble to develop and distribute life-saving vaccines during the pandemic
Des Kenny: A Galway man who devoted his life to reading books and supporting authors
A great advocate for authors, who was one of the first to champion the late crime writer Ken Bruen
Quantum 2.0 by Paul Davies: An engaging and accessible account of the quantum world
A rewarding book that offers a cogent look at the science’s history and the second quantum revolution that’s under way
Telenovela by Gonzalo C. Garcia: Chile’s dark era revisited through a family drama
Novel examines the moral compromises of ordinary Chileans living under Pinochet’s dictatorship
A Companion to Conflict and Peace in Northern Ireland: Collection of hard but necessary truths
Thought-provoking essays explore a place that has made progress but retains a strong capacity for self-sabotage
Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World by Dani Rodrik: Health plan for a fractured world
Ireland is a poster child for the very economic model Rodrik argues has run its course
Louis CK has written a novel – is it an unwitting piece of inner-child therapy?
This is an accomplished, deeply felt debut from the ‘cancelled’ comedian
The Commercial Lives of Irish Women, 1850–1922: Business as Usual by Antonia Hart
Author explores a time of growing vibrancy for women that eventually came undone by a coalition of government and church
The Garden and the Jungle by Edwy Plenel: A persuasive case against western panic over immigration
This France-centric book from a former editor of the French daily Le Monde has the sense of preaching to the choir
Somebody is Walking on Your Grave: Mariana Enriquez explores hidden stories of the dead
From New Orleans to Patagonia, the Argentine writer uncovers history, myth, and mystery in cemeteries across the globe
The Pelican Child by Joy Williams: Stories of everyday happenings with one eye on the troubling future
Williams’s pessimistic environmentalism is at the forefront, with the waning of the anthropocene palpable
Cenél nEógain and the Donegal Kingdoms, AD 800-1200: An engaging and entertaining read
The story of a powerful medieval royal house’s rise and fall is brought dramatically to life by Brian Lacey
New crime fiction: Q stars in a genteel 007 spin-off; Jack Reacher returns
Reviewed: Quantum of Menace; Hello, Transcriber; The Token; The Fourth Door; and Exit Strategy
Bringing to life the stories of the gifted scientists who spawned the nuclear age
Bringing to life the stories of the gifted scientists who spawned the nuclear age
When You Listen to This Song: A meditation on memory, silence and displacement
French novelist Lola Lafon holds a solitary overnight vigil in the Annex of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
Reviews in brief - Books: A Manifesto or How to Build a Library; Artists and Pirates; Nymph
Ian Patterson makes a compelling case for physical books, Stephanie LaCava is entertaining as always and new offering explores golden age of visual satire
Best Westerns: Larry McMurtry and the true heroes of the old American West
Beyond the easy attraction of ‘cowboying’, the quartet’s true heroes are the women of the west, with their preternatural strength, humanity and dignity in such a noisome environment
Staging Beckett in London by Matthew McFrederick: New study traces 70 years of productions
A meticulously researched history argues that Godot’s dominance has overshadowed Beckett’s wider theatrical legacy
Motherland by Julia Ioffe: The unfairly forgotten women of the Soviet Union
A beautifully crafted tribute to remarkable women and a howl of condemnation at a country that ‘failed them’
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