Our pick of the week's releases
Philida
André Brink
Harvill Secker, £12.99
André Brink's Booker-longlisted novel is a fictionalised account of the life of a black slave his family once owned, set in 1832 in the Cape region of South Africa. Philida is the lover of François Brink, who is both an Afrikaner and the son of Philida's master. That does not stop François (or Frans) having sex with her, which results in children. Philida believes Frans will free her, but his family have other plans: they intend to marry him off to a respectable girl from Cape Town's high society. This provides Philida's motivation to complain officially about her treatment and to escape. Using first-person narrative, Brink draws, not surprisingly, a bleak picture of Philida's circumstances and prospects. The same first-person narration for Frans reveals a naive boy and an equally believable character. The story is somewhat spoiled by the little introductions to each chapter, but Philida's personality drives the action on.
Pól Ó Muiri
A City in Wartime: Dublin 1914-18
Padraig Yeates
Gill Macmillan, £12.99
The first World War hangs over Dublin in this book, but its main effects on the city were indirect, filtered through the prism of Britain's war effort. "Dublin barely reacted to news of the United Kingdom's formal declaration of war," because it had more immediate problems of its own, with appalling poverty, unemployment, slum housing, prostitution and disease. The British war effort took food, fuel and men from Dublin, exacerbating conditions for those among the impoverished working class who didn't join the army. This, combined with Britain's violent reaction to the 1916 Rising, strengthened support for militant nationalism and broadened the desire for Irish independence in the city. In an enormously detailed, scholarly work,Yeates builds up a comprehensive depiction of the city at this time, with its tenements, strikes, child labour, cattle-smuggling and gunrunning. His account of how circumstances tied the burgeoning rebel movement to the labour movement is fascinating. Colm Farren
The Thursday Night Men
Tonino Benaquista, translated by Alison Anderson
Europa Editions, £10.99
This novel switches between the stories of three friends who meet at an informal support group for broken-hearted men. The weakest story is that of Denis, who has lost his libido and is flummoxed when a strange woman makes herself at home in his apartment. I thought it was odd rather than quirky, but maybe it worked better in French. Yves, meanwhile, is squandering his savings on prostitutes. I was afraid his story would celebrate the jolly life of generous whores, but Yves actually becomes more thoughtful and humane as he gradually twigs that nasty lives propel women into nasty work. My favourite story is that of Philippe, a philosopher who's a kind of French Woody Allen. He never leaves Paris except for a book fair or seminar, but that changes when he starts dating a supermodel. His free holiday with her in a luxury villa in Indonesia is a hilarious portrayal of pure misery. This book seemed a bit old fashioned at first, but it grew on me. Mary Feely
The Road Home: My Journey
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy
Transworld Ireland, £8.99
In her latest book, Sr Stan looks back on her life as a journey that has taken her across Ireland to work with people that society passes by: the poor, homeless and migrant. Yet she also describes an inward journey of the soul that is driven by her work for a fairer society. Although early chapters recall her childhood in Co Kerry and she later reflects on the loss of her parents, her account does not read as a typical life story. Rather, Kennedy provides the reader with a treatise for social, cultural and political change. That treatise is built from decades of experience working with the most marginalised people in society. An optimist, she sees an opportunity in Ireland's current crisis to bring about a more equitable society, as long as the status quo is challenged. Her remarkable social entrepreneurship thus emerges from her intertwining journeys. Sarah McMonagle
The Posthumous Affair
James Friel
Tupelo Press, £10.99
Where’s a literature professor when you need one? I know I missed umpteen literary references while reading this book. The story starts in the late 19th century and tells of an on-again, off-again maybe-romance between two writers. Daniel is a dainty, beautiful sourpuss; no one reads his books. Grace is huge, plain and rich; her sprawling romances are a hit. Given the references to Washington Square, golden bowls and so on, I’m clever enough to get the allusions to Henry James. Alas, I’m not clever enough to figure out if Daniel is supposed to be James himself or one of his effete, cold-fish heroes. The book is captivating if bizarre, with wild plot twists, striking images and, right at the end, a very clever take on the author-reader relationship.
Mary Feely
