Partisan • Patriotic • Internationalist
In her latest novel, Intermezzo, Sally Rooney continues her exploration of intimate relationships, albeit with a shift away from the clear political critique that characterised her earlier works. Its focus lies on what makes personal relationships successful, and, surprisingly, on unconditional love as something close to God. Rooney’s previous novel, […]
In the past few months, two important contributions to Irish sports history hit the shelves of bookshops around the country. Labelling these books as Irish sports history is potentially reductive, as both authors make it very clear that the history they write is a shadow of what we would call […]
On 10th December 2024, Han Kang will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making her the second South Korean and the first Asian woman to receive this honour. Known for her focus on South Korea’s complex history of violence, oppression, and resistance, Kang’s win resonates powerfully with progressives, as […]
For decades, New Books editions of Connolly’s writings were the main resource for readers seeking the word of James Connolly in print. The two volumes of Connolly’s Collected Works and pocket versions of Labour in Irish History remained bestsellers in New Books (later Connolly Books), but the story of Connolly […]
On Tuesday 24th September, the latest novel by Sally Rooney, Intermezzo, hit the shelves in bookshops nationwide. The launch day saw queues in front of bookshops before they opened, and Rooney was in the media spotlight for her reiterated, unequivocal support for Palestine in a recent public appearance. Now used […]
Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten, by Maurice J Casey – review Richard Mullen The blurb on the back cover of Hotel Lux reads: “A series of romances wrapped in a detective story, disguised as a narrative history of international communism, Hotel Lux uncovers a world of forgotten […]
Spy thrillers about and accounts of East-West spying during the cold war abound, are always written from a particular Western political standpoint. Autobiographies relating the stories of former “agents for peace” on the other hand are rare. Beatrice Altman-Schevitz’ The Shadow in the Shadow is the only such memoir to […]
East German Literature: Challenges and Triumphs in Cultural Recognition Germany’s minister of state for culture, the senior Green politician Claudia Roth, one of the almost exclusively West German-born government officials, voiced her surprise at a recent literary event upon discovering that there were other books on East German (GDR) bookshelves […]
Maya Wind’s Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom saw its Dublin launch at Trinity College, mere minutes after the Trinity students celebrated the end of their encampment. The book launch was a chance to contextualise the euphoria of one of the first wins for the […]
The M-C-C’-M’ circuit means Money (M) which is exchanged for Commodities (C) – including labor power which also becomes a commodity in a capitalist society – involved in the production process to produce a value-added commodity (C’) which is sold for more Money (M’), and thus the accumulation of capital […]
Until we Fall: Long Distance life on the left is a fascinating and sometimes inspiring account of decades of political engagement. The words Until We Fall distil the essence of six chapters into three words. Until We Fall suggests a commitment that is unwavering and a purpose all consuming. Anyone […]
“I live according to the rules ‘visit no one, do not receive anyone’—to which I once added ‘and do not open the peephole on the door for an old woman from Al-Bireh’—and ‘measures, precautions, requirements, and rules.’ Between this and that, I resist and I cook, I sleep, I dream, […]
Kohei Saito’s book on degrowth communism was an unlikely bestseller in 2020, with half a million copies sold in Japan. This is an oft-cited line introducing Saito’s works in the West, in anticipation of the English translations. After the English translation of Marx in the Anthropocene coming out last year, […]
Paul Lynch’s novel Prophet Song winning the 2023 Booker Prize signifies a notable awareness regarding the dismantling of democracy in the Western world. It underscores the realisation that the erosion of democratic principles is a pressing concern that transcends borders and could impact any country. Microbiologist Eilish Stack is married […]
Illustrated with an interesting and refreshing selection of photographs, posters, paintings and newspaper clippings, John Ellison’s new book “World War Two A People’s War?” puts a long and complex story of World War Two into a brief and accessible narrative. Coming from the British perspective on the war and dominantly […]
■ Paul O’Brien, Seán O’Casey: Political Activist and Writer, Cork University Press, 2023, €39. Paul O’Brien has published a political biography of Seán O’Casey, looking at the dramatist from a broadly left-wing viewpoint. The book is accessibly written and sheds light on details of working-class Dublin and international history. O’Brien’s […]