Music Love Drugs War: Debut novel set in 1980s Derry fails to deliver on teenage kicksBook is heavy with weight of too many voices and lacks discernment as it switches between themSat Jan 12 2019 - 05:59
Jokes for the Gunmen review: unsettling debut mixes humour and warMazen Maarouf’s collection of stories weaves the domestic with the horrificSat Jan 5 2019 - 06:00
My Sister, The Serial Killer review: darkly comic debut novelOyinkan Braithwaite writes about sisterly love and murder in a light-hearted mannerSat Dec 29 2018 - 06:00
Apples & Knife by Intan Paramaditha review: Uneven horror storiesTales of an unexpected nature combine horror with fairy tales and a feminist focusSat Dec 22 2018 - 00:00
New fiction of the year: Sally Rooney’s talent anything but normalThe best debuts and emerging voices from Ireland and abroad in 2018Sat Dec 15 2018 - 00:00
Friday Black review: a bracing, ultramodern debut collectionNana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah tackles race in America in this vibrant, inventive bookSat Dec 8 2018 - 06:00
The Wooden Hill review: Promising debut from Armagh writerJamie Guiney’s collection of stories is a mixed bag, with some stark moments of clarity and emotionSat Dec 1 2018 - 06:00
Wattle and Daub by Brian Coughlan review: Good ideas, mixed resultsDebut collection of 21 short stories whose cleverness is hampered by a lack of restraintSat Nov 24 2018 - 06:00
A Different Drummer by William Melvin Kelley: The new ‘Stoner’?Rediscovered classic from a black American writer imagines a different Deep SouthSat Nov 17 2018 - 06:00
Crimson review: No country for young womenNiviaq Korneillson’s debut novel is an uneven tale of the lives female twentysomethings in a country whose backdrop is largely unexploredSat Nov 10 2018 - 06:00
Slip of a Fish review: An impressive portrait of motherhood, loss and mental fragilityAmy Arnold debut examines trauma and the resulting breakdown in communicationSat Nov 3 2018 - 05:15
The Bus on Thursday review: Hitching a ride to hellA young woman's diagnosis with breast cancer becomes surreal B-movie materialSat Oct 27 2018 - 06:00
What We’re Teaching Our Sons review: Lessons from our fathersOwen Booth’s original debut gives a profound account of life, family and fatherhoodSat Oct 20 2018 - 06:00
Things That Make the Heart Beat Faster by João Morais: A bit of a muddleA debut collection of stories about young people starts well but finally fails to convinceSat Oct 13 2018 - 06:00
The Remainder review: bearing the burden of Chile’s pastAlia Trabucco Zerán explores repercussions of the Pinochet era on the next generationSat Oct 6 2018 - 06:00
The Incendiaries by RO Kwon: overhyped debut fails to igniteStylish writing and interesting subject matter are lost in a plodding narrativeSat Sep 29 2018 - 06:00
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees: a queasy tale of loveA second novel by the Syrian author proves to be a laboured love story rife with clichesSat Sep 22 2018 - 06:00
The Dark Dark review: vibrant renditions of people on the brinkSamantha Hunt’s stories are smart, benevolent explorations of complex emotionsSat Sep 15 2018 - 06:00
‘Sweet Home’ is a debut collection that lingers long in the memoryWendy Erskine is a startling new voice from Belfast that comes alive in short story formatSat Sep 8 2018 - 06:00
Astroturf by Matthew Sperling: A brawn cocktail that nails the zeitgeistReview: This tense debut about steroid abuse is very much of the momentSat Sep 1 2018 - 06:00
Heartbreaker by Claudia Dey: Cult territory well worth traversingA dog and two teenagers bring an inventive second novel about commune living to lifeSat Aug 25 2018 - 06:00
Future Popes of Ireland: Epic tale of a fractured familyDarragh Martin’s debut delivers a history of the last 30 years with heart and humourSat Aug 18 2018 - 06:00
How Are You Going to Save Yourself by JM Holmes: sharp, vibrant talesA debut collection tells interlinked stories of race, friendship and sexual violenceSat Aug 11 2018 - 06:00
John Boyne: We formed a strong friendship, it developed into an unhealthy situationBoyne's latest novel A Ladder to the Sky is inspired by the literary world and the writer's experience of an "unhealthy" crush on a fellow writerSat Aug 4 2018 - 06:00
People in the Room by Norah Lange: Macabre Argentinean classicEnglish translation of a masterful, deeply mysterious novel about female isolationSat Aug 4 2018 - 06:00
Feast Days by Ian MacKenzie review: A truly convincing female voiceThe astute, captivating story of expat life of an American woman in BrazilSat Jul 28 2018 - 06:00
Suicide Club by Rachel Heng: Who wants to live forever?Novel about people on the cusp of immortality makes a case for quality over quantitySat Jul 21 2018 - 06:23
‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ by Helen Cullen: A romantic adventureDebut novel about a letter detective builds an enchanting world but gets lost in subplotSat Jul 14 2018 - 06:00
‘Pretend I’m Dead’ by Jen Beagin: Confessions of a house cleanerReview: Beagin’s debut novel should be a hit with readers and awards lists alikeSat Jul 7 2018 - 06:00
Convenience Store Woman review: a deeply engaging debut novelSakaya Murata writes with a deadpan humour in this sure-fire hit of the summerSat Jun 30 2018 - 06:00
An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim review: a timely debut novelNew fiction offers fresh perspective on the complexity of migration and displacementSat Jun 23 2018 - 06:00
Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton: Rich kid satire that misses the markThere are some similarities to Highsmith and Tarte, but the execution is lackingSat Jun 16 2018 - 06:00
‘Only Killers and Thieves’ review: A brutal coming of age in AustraliaPaul Howarth’s stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWittSat Jun 9 2018 - 06:00
Promising Young Women by Caroline O’Donoghue: timely and vibrantA sharp and engaging tale of a millennial woman making her way in the worldSat Jun 2 2018 - 06:00
Motherhood by Sheila Heti: delves deep into the fundamentals of procreatingAn intelligent, probing readSat May 26 2018 - 06:00
A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Powers: a disappointing second novelReview: Author’s attempts to widen the lens make for an overwrought narrativeSat May 19 2018 - 06:00
Ireland's thriving literary magazine scene: space for tradition and experimentationBoth online-only formats and print journals provide vital platforms for new and developing writersSat May 19 2018 - 06:00
Luke Tredget’s debut novel is sharp, witty and full of tension‘Kismet’ reflects on social media’s role in our feelings of inferioritySat May 12 2018 - 06:00
West by Carys Davies review: a morally complex novelWest has the wisdom and lyrical prose of a folk tale whose power grips from the beginning and demands a single-session read.Sat May 5 2018 - 06:00
Problems by Jade Sharma review: a razor-sharp debutNew fiction: a genuine tour de force about a woman in her 20s whose life is falling apartSat Apr 28 2018 - 06:00
‘The Lido’ by Libby Page: Feel-good fare that fails to live up to hypeDebut novel already lined up for film version lacks the style of less heralded new releasesSat Apr 21 2018 - 05:24
Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce review – Letters from the home frontA plucky female heroine helps a war-torn London in a highly original debutSat Apr 14 2018 - 05:24
A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton reviewA captivating generational tale about the impact of racism in the American SouthSat Apr 7 2018 - 05:24
Kit de Waal: The Trick to Time review - In search of lost timeThe Trick to Time review: A beguiling, simple story that hides a tricksy, troubled taleSat Mar 31 2018 - 05:24
Tangerine by Christine Mangan: debut thriller tries to do too muchMorocco in the 1950s is a captivating setting for this uneven but admirably sinister novelSat Mar 24 2018 - 05:24
The Eight Mountains review: An arduous ascent into adulthoodPaolo Cognetti’s coming-of-age in the Alps story is vividly rendered and wonderfully lucidSat Mar 17 2018 - 06:00
The Dinner Guest review – An angel at the tableGabriela Ybarra’s captivating debut is written with the forensic eye of a true crime writerSat Mar 10 2018 - 05:24
Mothers by Chris Power review – lonely voices living in a maternal worldPower's affinity with the short story form comes through in this debut collectionSat Mar 3 2018 - 05:24
Sight by Jessie Greengrass review – Eyes wide openA slow burning, beautifully written debut on the art of reflectionSat Feb 24 2018 - 05:24
Silence Under a Stone review: Insipid storyline with a morose characterA staunch Presbyterian woman shows little mercy to her loved ones, or the readerSat Feb 17 2018 - 05:24