MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
The high art of suffocating in a small town
FIONA O’CONNOR relishes an artfully restrained novel whose style is perfectly in tune with the petit bourgeois existence it portrays
ROMANTIC SETTING: Enniscorthy from east
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Long Island
Colm Toibin, Picador, £20
THIS is a gorgeous summer read, a subtly crafted love story by the masterful Colm Toibin. For book fetishists the hardback version is a covetable object in itself, with its elegant jade and coral covers.
Colm Toibin is one of Ireland’s most successful writers. His bestseller Brooklyn established him as a global author, amplified by the release of a Hollywood movie version of the same title. 20 years on, Long Island resumes the story of Eilis, the girl who emigrated to Brooklyn in the cause of duty, leaving behind her one great love.
In order to enjoy Long Island you don’t need to have read the prequel, but you can find fascinating threads holding between these two books; the reading of both gives a richer sense of some of the characters and their motivations.
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
