The story spans three decades from 1979 and the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Irish Republic. Granny Doyle is so much in thrall to the Pontiff and filled with religious fervour, that she decides her next grandchild is destined to become the first Irish Pope. The comic brio of the Irish vernacular, with nods to the 'Father Ted' series, belies the tragic elements of this riotous family saga, so you can be sure of plenty of great 'craic' too!
Rich is our eponymous narrator and a typical narcissist - charming, manipulative, impulsive and self-serving, but also wittily introspective. The novel combines two staples of modern fiction – a midlife crisis with the usual adulterous relationship, and a literary alter ego to extract useable material from real-life experiences, friends and family. The title also refers to the philosophical question of what we should most value in life.
Vulgar, intense, fast and funny this is a hedonistic tale of friendship, drink, drugs and sex. I struggled with the hold that Tyler has over Laura, but found it to be an interesting look at love, growing up at thirty, and what happens when girls behave badly.
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Wickedly witty and unflinchingly graphic, this lesbian coming-out odyssey is both eye-opening and eye-watering regarding the sexual exploits of its ingenue protagonist. Think ‘Fleabag’ rather than ‘Bridget Jones’ and you will get the right idea...
A tale of ex-pat twenty-something millennials, filtered through the cultural perspectives of gender, sexuality, class, and race differences, as in the current zeitgeist. Sparky dialogue and banter between the protagonists disguise the hidden meanings, motivations and power dynamics in their relationships, whilst the reader can expect more of an interesting experience - as in the Chinese proverb - rather than the exciting times of the title.
Very funny at times but with a much darker undertone. I found it hard to like any of the characters but I certainly recognized them and I just had to keep on reading to find out what happened next - there were certainly a few surprises along the way.
View Having a Lovely Time
These short stories comprise acutely observed portraits of everyday life and survival in modern Belfast. Dealing with loneliness, loss and disengagement from community, Erskine has a sharp ear for dialogue, capturing the dry Irish wit and wry turn of phrase - an arrogant character is summed up as 'a fellow who would put a bob on himself both ways'. She makes the mundane fascinating and all the characters come alive. A wonderful debut collection.
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A terse yet poignant satire on self-absorbed thirty-somethings, eco-activists, misery memoirs and self-help gurus. Katherine is the cynical ex-girlfriend from hell and, like the devil, she gets all the best lines with her scathing put-downs and one-upmanship. You will want to read it twice to savour all the acerbic one-liners, reminiscent of the wise-cracking dialogue of old Hollywood movies.
View Idiopathy
In a reversal of the usual story of immigrants struggling to integrate, this is a rollicking rags-to-riches-to-rags tragicomedy. The misadventures of a Chinese American family on a coast to coast road trip across America, led by their incorrigible patriarch Charles Wang (who has lost the family fortune and privileged lifestyle in the global recession) makes for a highly entertaining tale of family loyalty and resilience in the face of adversity.
View The Wangs vs the World
The age-old problem of trying to ‘have it all’ bedevil our thirty-something heroine as she juggles the roles of wife, employee and best friend, while confronting the issue of a fertility ticking-time bomb. This biting satire will strike many a chord with anyone who has ever worked in an all-female workplace, with bitchy bosses and undermining colleagues.
View Break in Case of EmergencyYou won’t find the biggest bestsellers on Whichbook as everyone knows about them already. But you can use your enjoyment of a current bestseller to see titles with a similar mood that you might try next.
