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
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
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
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
Restless Souls by Dan Sheehan review – friendship, memory and human capacity for enduranceAn uneven debut set between ’90s Ireland, California and Eastern Europe tries to cram in too muchSat Feb 10 2018 - 05:24
White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht review: A sea of troublesThe plight of Korea's 'comfort women' hits home in a thought-provoking debutSat Feb 3 2018 - 05:24
A grim dystopian Ireland that is all too believableReview: The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow, a debut novel by Cork author Danny DentonSat Jan 27 2018 - 06:00