Fiction

Don Quixote is the best book out there on political theory, followed by Hamlet and Macbeth. There is no better way to understand the tragedy and the comedy of the Mexican political system than Hamlet, Macbeth and Don Quixote. They're much better than any column of political analysis.

Subcomandante Marcos

Saturday, 15 January 2022 19:23

In search of the Marxist novel

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Fiction

30-year-old Irish author Sally Rooney has been in the headlines following her refusal to grant the translation rights of her new novel Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021) to the Israeli Modan publishing house. Seventy prominent writers backed her decision in a statement in November. In May, Rooney had been…

Sally Rooney Conversations with Friends Normal People Beautiful World, Where Are You?

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 16:41

A Hello to Arms

Written by Paul Simon

in Fiction

Paul Simon reviews the latest novel from Dennis Broe, A Hello to Arms Fresh from exposing the murderous and duplicitous Hollywood of the immediate post-war period, Harry Palmer finds his next commission broadly doing the same for California’s other boom sector of the time: aircraft manufacturing. As with Dennis Broe’s…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Tuesday, 14 December 2021 14:27

Land of the Ever Young

in Fiction

Written by Mike Quille

Mike Quille interviews Jenny Farrell, editor of Land of the Ever Young. Illustrations are by Karen Dietrich, and are taken from the book Mike Quille: The third book in the trilogy of working people’s writing from contemporary Ireland, which have all been edited by you, has just been published. Can…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Saturday, 11 December 2021 09:59

A book for Christmas: The Sikh Snowman

in Fiction

Written by Owen Gallagher

Some snowmen had topknots. Some wore football scarves and skull caps. Some had veils over their faces. One had fairy wings. They all began to sing...... Snowfall, friendship and feelings combine in this heartfelt and celebratory story about coming together. There's a relatable and joyous sense of wonder as the…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Thursday, 09 December 2021 16:42

The Nobel prize for Literature: Abdulrazak Gurnah

in Fiction

Written by Jenny Farrell

On 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, Abdulrazak Gurnah will receive the Nobel Prize for Literature on behalf of black Africa. Wole Soyinka was the first black African writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Other Nobel Prize winners from the African continent are Nagib…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 22 November 2021 12:45

Land of the Ever Young

in Fiction

Written by Mike Quille

This is the final book in a set of three volumes of working people’s writing from contemporary Ireland. It follows on from a poetry anthology, Children of the Nation and a prose anthology, From the Plough to the Stars, all edited by Jenny Farrell and available here. The children’s stories…

Saturday, 20 November 2021 11:56

Georgie

Written by Karl Parkinson

in Fiction

The Blocks is published in The Cry of the Poor, available here.

The Cry of the Poor

Monday, 15 November 2021 09:42

Provenance, by Kate Thompson: fighting inequality and injustice to Aboriginal peoples

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Fiction

Jenny Farrell reviews Provenance, by Kate Thompson As Elliot Fielding struggles in an Australian hospital to piece together his fragmented memory following serious head injury, the reader embarks with him on the road to make sense of his life before. The narrative delves into the realities of Aboriginal life, through…

Aboriginal art

Wednesday, 20 October 2021 08:35

Liam O’Flaherty and the Irish Free State

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Fiction

As Ireland observes the centenary of its incomplete independence – the setting up of the ‘Free State’ with dominion status and the partition of the country – care must be taken not to distort history. One of the authors who lived through the years of upheaval and the years of…

Tuesday, 05 October 2021 16:07

Fire in My Head

Written by Mike Quille

in Fiction

Moya Roddy’s new collection of stories catapult us into the minds and hearts of working-class people who, despite a class system that offers them very little, reveal their own strength and potential through friendship, community and solidarity. Whether it’s the young mother in Doctor’s Orders fighting to get the right…