RaveIrish Times (IRE)Razor-sharp ... An ambitious undertaking, whose breeziness befits the superfluity of its subject, playfully belying its serious research ... Tandoh investigates medieval cookbooks with the same aplomb as she does online trends ... Has deft observations that, once stated, you kick yourself for not noticing ... Hysterically funny ... Tandoh has a talent for language that winks at and luxuriates in the genre’s conventions ... Some might take issue with Tandoh’s exuberant consumerism and her disregard for environmental and ethical consequences, but I found her joy contagious ... All Consuming knows it’s not a classic but instead a slyly brilliant bauble that will endure as long as the ephemeral shelf-life of the content it contains ... Made me obsess for more.
RaveIrish Times (IRE)Incredibly gory and hilarious fun, as Awad makes lacerating use of both sharp objects and literary jargon to skewer current intellectual pretensions ... The shocks can feel like a sucker punch; you’re laughing one moment, splattered with viscera the next. The writing is also beautifully atmospheric ... The novel triumphs when it transcends the cleverness of its conceit to become a tale that astonishes and moves us. The side story of a teacher who plagiarises the students who worship her is genuinely wrenching.
MixedIrish Times (IRE)Although terrific in conveying the often-surreal dialogue around her, [Pocock] rarely participates ... Disillusionment is a hallmark of the great American roadtrip story, but it must be accompanied by joy, adventure, and above all, individuals ... Unfortunately, Pocock’s journey...was subsumed by the existence of so much suffering ... In the end, although she so beautifully conveys the bleakness that is our world, there is not enough humanity in Greyhound to merit her sorrow.
PositiveIrish Times (IRE)When her lyricism is balanced with concrete details, Mottley excels ... The most compelling sequence is when Simone finds herself pregnant again ... However, it’s disconcerting to have Simone, Adele and Emory narrate with the same, arresting voice. Furthermore, the book is a touch oversteeped in wisdom, symbolism and, above all, love. In earnestly exhorting us to adulate these women, the book—while not saccharine—can seem cloyingly sweet despite its darkness. Plus, motherhood, so celebrated here, is undermined by how one-dimensionally awful the girls’ own mothers are ... Poignant.
Yuan Yang
PositiveThe Irish Times (IRE)Yang, whose narratives are culled from interviews and diaries, represents these women honestly, but as a result, the writing can be flat ... Surprisingly, it is Yang’s straightforward prose that makes Private Revolutions a compelling read. Anecdotes, told without sentiment, veer from bleak to absurd ... Because Yang is disinclined to be melodramatic, her book rings true.
Fuchsia Dunlop
RaveIrish Times (IRE)An ecstatic compendium of her Chinese romance. Chapters are divided into banquet \'courses\' ... The book is not without difficulties ... Dunlop’s China and her themes become more nuanced ... Dunlop brings a similar verve to the Chinese past. Her historical figures are sadistic and sexy.
