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Travel-writer, Bill Bryson was suddenly struck by how little he knew about how life on earth actually came about. He undertook to learn as much as he could on the subject with a view to sharing his newly acquired knowledge. Naturally, this involved extensive research in a range of scientific areas. Then, there was there was the undoubtedly mammoth task of presenting the vast store of information in such a way as to make it accessible to those of us unversed in science. Such a book must excite the interest of those with even a passing curiosity concerning the origins of life. It is scarcely surprising that it has reached the to the top of the non-fiction best-selling list.

So how well does Bryson succeed in his objective? It must be said that this depends a lot on the individual reader. A Short History of Nearly Everything certainly has a great deal to offer. His style is refreshing and he explains the most complicated matters in a way that is relatively easy to understand. He relates many interesting anecdotes about the lives of various scientists. One could be forgiven for concluding that they are truly an odd bunch. Remarkably, many made significant discoveries and kept these to themselves for years. Such reticent geniuses include the painfully shy Henry Cavendish who, among other things, figured out how much the earth weighs. This book could well prove invaluable in encouraging teenagers to develop an interest in science and in the world around them. Astronomy, physics, biology, chemistry, geology and genealogy are all covered. However, it mist be said that if you have little or no interest in one or more of these, you will have difficulty in reading some sections. Then again, there is every possibility that you will find at least some of these areas much more absorbing than you imagine.

Bryson is not content merely to pass on the accumulated wisdom of the greatest scientific minds throughout the ages and right up to the present day - one might say from the Big Bang to DNA. He explains how people such as Newton, Einstein and Darwin amongst many others reached their conclusions. In some cases, this entails describing difficulties encountered and mistakes made along the way.

A Short History of Nearly Everything answers many questions. It also reveals that there are many questions still to be answered. Perhaps most importantly, it awakens in the reader a new awareness and sense of wonder with regard to the miracle of life in all its forms.

A Spring in my Step

Joan McDonnell

The Collins Press

Foreword by Gay Byrne

Readers will remember Joan McDonnell for her gusty attitude to life and a uniquely quirky and unfailing sense of humour. Many will find her memoir hilarious and it will certainly raise chuckle after chuckle. This is a considerable achievement given the grim nature of some aspects of her story. Young and old will enjoy it. She writes with honesty and a remarkable lack of self-pity. She is not in the least averse to making jokes at her own expense. One often suspects her of writing with her tongue firmly in her cheek.

Joan McDonnell was born in Limerick in 1952. Her parents had a Herculean struggle to make ends meet. As if such poverty wasn't enough of a handicap in itself, she contracted polio as a baby, resulting in one leg being longer than the other so that she walked with a pronounced limp. A lengthy stay in a Dublin hospital rendered her a stranger to her family although she was eventually reunited with them. Her efforts to win the acceptance of her young peers despite her limp are often comical. Her escapades include jumping off a wall, skating on ice and taking a ride on the back bumper of the bread-van. Frankly, it seems a miracle that she survived at all. She developed asthma as a child although this wasn't diagnosed for years.

As a teenager, Joan's attempts to disguise her disability and also to grow taller are highly amusing. Love does finally come along in a rather unusual way. She decides to search for romance by finding herself a pen-pal. This works like a dream. She finds herself writing daily to a Mayo-man living in London whom she nicknames Mac. He visits her during the summer. Fearing that it is all too good to be true, she shows him her bad leg at the earliest opportunity to make sure that he can cope with it. Fortunately, he can. She flies to London to spend Christmas with him. This is her first plane-journey - bound to be a memorable experience. They become engaged. Mac is certainly forthright, stipulating that Joan's engagement-ring must be the cheapest available. Still, theirs is clearly to be a marriage made in heaven.

For a rare blend of inspiration and entertainment, look no further than A Spring in My Step. As well as being available in the shops, it can be ordered on-line at www.collinspress.ie.

A Time of Angels

Patricia Schonstein

Bantam Press

€23

This adult fairytale is a curious blend of fantasy and realism. Most enjoyable, it is light and entertaining although it touches on the dark side of life. Love, betrayal, death, war, religion and the afterlife all feature. Patricia Schonstein is a storyteller supreme.

Primo Verona has clairvoyant powers, which he uses to help others. He foresaw his mother's death while still in the womb. He is brought up by his father and aunt, both Auschwitz survivors. Eugenio Verona was a watch-maker with curious notions on the concept of time. He taught his young son about astronomy and philosophy. His sister, Lidia told the most wonderful stories. Primo has grown up fascinated with the theme of good and evil.

Pasquale Benvenuto, Primo's best friend since boyhood, owns a delicatessen and bar, having inherited his supreme culinary skills from his father as well as the family business. How Massimo Benvenuto acquired the former is a tale in itself. The two friends have contrasting personalities, Pasquale being as volatile as Primo is calm. The friendship is severed when Beatrice, Primo's wife leaves him for Pasquale. Primo is devastated. He takes a certain grim satisfaction in preparing spells that would destroy Pasquale's business but, not being malicious, he puts them on hold. At least, that is what he thinks. Unbeknown to him, they have taken effect - with devastating consequences.

However, Primo's biggest mistake is when, in desperation, he weaves a spell to bring Beatrice back to him but, instead conjures up - the Devil. This is not as alarming as it seems. Apart from being a handsome devil, Lucifer turns out to be quite different from how he is usually represented, his mission being to contain evil rather than provoke it.

The tale that unfolds is delightful.

Bad Boy Jack

Josephine Cox

This rates amongst Josephine Cox's best novels and it is scarcely surprising that it has topped the bestsellers list. An old-fashioned saga of love, hate, loss, greed, revenge and reconciliation, with a spot of insanity and a few murders thrown in for good measure, it absorbs the attention from beginning to end. It will delight her many fans and is bound to win her some new ones as well.

Little Jack and Nancy Sullivan capture the heart right from the first page and it is all too easy to sympathise with their plight when abandoned by their father at the Galloway Children's Hone. Not that Robert Sullivan is nearly as callous as this might imply. Almost immediately, he has a change of heart. However, before he can reclaim them, he is savagely assaulted and left for dead by a vicious thief.

Clive Ennington, the manager of the children's home, is a thoroughly bad egg. Enough of the children are placed in good homes to satisfy the authorities but some are sold to the highest bidder. This is Nancy's fate. She is sold to the wealthy Edward and Rosemary Cornwell as a replacement for their dead daughter, Sarah-Jane. She and her adoptive brother, David are the best of friends. Rosemary is loving towards her but insists on her taking Sarah-Jane's name. She must also cope with her adoptive sister, Pauline's hostility. As she grows up, she is haunted by a past she cannot properly remember.

Jack finds a home with Justin Lyndhurst, a farmer. Justin loves him like a true father and he returns his love. He also gets on well with Justin's stepdaughter, Lizzie. Lixxie's mother, the avaricious Viola, is a different matter entirely. Jack is plagued by a guilty secret.

Mary still loves Robert Sullivan. However, she has been driven away by Jack's resentment. Marrying guesthouse-owner, Paul Marshall, she tries to find happiness again despite the ruthlessness and cunning of his vindictive Aunt Agatha.

So, we find the four principle characters leading entirely separate lives. It will be a long road to their eventual reunion with many unexpected twists of fate along the way.

Best of Friends

Cathy Kelly

Harper Collins

Abby, Jess, Lizzie and Erin aren't exactly the best of friends at the beginning of the novel. In fact, apart from Abby and Jess being mother and daughter, they're strangers to each other. The common link is Sally Richardson. Sally has fulfilled her dream of opening a beauty-salon in the town of Dunmore. Not that she is primarily a career woman. She is devoted to her husband, Steve and their two small sons, Jack and Daniel. Also, she has a talent for spreading happiness. Her family and friends are devastated when she becomes seriously ill. Indeed, it seems that the entire community is profoundly affected.

No one is more surprised than Abby Barton at her success as a presenter on a television-show. Unfortunately, her deputy school-principal husband, Tom is far from supportive. Tensions arise. Difficulties emerge in her career as well as her home life. A chance encounter with her former boyfriend, Jay Garnier at a time when she is at such a low ebb complicates matters still further. On impulse, she agrees to meet him again. She quickly realises that becoming involved with him again is a terrible mistake but, sadly, it seems that it is already too late.

Jess is studying for her Junior Cert. She hates having to wear both glasses and braces. She finds being a teenager is difficult enough without having her parents' marital problems to contend with on top of everything else. The day will come when she will feel that matters are so desperate that she is driven to drastic measures.

Lizzie Shanahan has lived a life of putting others first. It is through no fault of her own that she is separated from her husband, Myles. At last, she has a chance of finding some happiness for herself. She decides to do a parachute-jump to raise money for charity, surprising herself and everyone else. The handsome instructor, Simon asks her out and there is a real prospect of romance between then. However, she reckons without her grown-up yet extremely spoilt daughter, Debra.

Erin and her husband have just returned to Ireland from Chicago. She has grave doubts regarding their decision to return. She hasn't seen her family for nine years. It isn't as if they weren't a close family. However, before emigrating to America, on sending away for her birth-certificate in order to obtain a passport, she'd made a shocking discovery. The couple she had always believed to be her parents were actually her grandparents. Her much older sister, Shannon who had spent years travelling around the world without returning hone had suddenly turned out to be her mother. She couldn't forgive them for keeping the truth from her. She'd phoned home a few times but that was before her fiery sister/aunt, Kerry had told her not to do so again. Her feelings had changed with the passing of the years. She'd written home but her letters hadn't been answered.

With 520 pages, there is nothing small about Best of Friends. Episodes such as Lizzie's parachute-jump, Abby and Jess' holiday in Florida and Erin's meeting with her biological mother add variety and colour. Cathy Kelly has a special talent foe creating interesting and likeable characters. This is an entertaining and engaging read.

Big Fat Love

Peter Sheridan

Tivoli

"I feel like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I've nowhere else to go," announces Philo on the doorstep of the convent of the Sacred Heart in Dublin's North Wall.

Sr Rosaleen can't help reflecting that she seems nothing like Julie Andrews. She's as Dublin as can be, to quote Pete St John's Rare Ould Times, tattooed and grossly obese. She expresses a wish to be a nun, neglecting to mention her abusive husband, Tommo and her five children.

Philo transforms life at the convent and, even more especially, at the day care centre for the elderly run by the nuns where endless board-games are replaced by singsongs, bingo with lots of prizes and games of Blind Date with Philo taking the role of Cilla Black with panache. Long established tensions dissolve at her magic touch. A special friendship develops between her and Sr Rosaleen whom she introduces to her true vocation - of a bingo-caller. She has a heart tattooed on her arm. This seems appropriate as she has room in her heart for everyone.

Tommo won't be kept secret for long. He turns up at the convent and pleads with Phulo to come home. He charms the nuns but she is adamant that she won't go. He has left the children at Goldenbridge orphanage. However, the eldest, Jack, who is not Tommo's son, has been convicted of joyriding and sent to the San Francisco Boys' Home.

In an entertaining sub-plot, two of the senior citizens who attend the day care centre, Cap and Dina discover that the romance barely started between them in their youth has survived despite the fifty intervening years of hostility. It is in the interests of fostering this that Philo masterminds the Blind Date session. Unfortunately, Dina has a rather serious accident while preparing for her night out at the Abbey Theatre. Still, true love conquers all.

There is much humour in Big Fat Love. Yet it has a serious core. Behind Philo's eating disorder lies a dark secret. Even though she has developed a personality to match her physical size, she must confront her past before she can be truly whole. Just how this comes about is hilarious and well beyond most of our imaginations of most of us.

Both funny and moving, Big Fat Love is sure to put a smile on your face. You certainly won't forget Philo in a hurry.

Cash

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash's autobiography is a must for anyone with the slightest interest in the legendary performer. He writes in a conversational style and it is easy to imagine him speaking the words. His integrity always shines through. Interestingly, he concurs with his friend, Kris Kristofferson's description of him in his song, The Pilgrim, inspired by him, a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.

Cash tells of growing up in Dyess, Arkansas. The family, cotton-pickers - yes, the children worked long hours in the fields along with their parents - were on intimate terms with poverty. Still, there was always music in his life. He loved to listen to programmes like the famous Louisiana Hayride and to the records of artists such as Jimmy Rogers and the Carter family. Also, his mother, Carrie loved to sing.

The most tragic event of Johnny's life was his older brother, Jack's accidental death at the age of fourteen. Jack had already decided that he had a vocation to be a minister of the gospel. He would always be a major influence on Johnny's life.

Cash chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and, less happily, his "affair with pills." The latter came about not through experimenting with drugs but through addiction to painkillers. He could easily have numbered among the stars who lost their lives to drugs. Indeed, he reached the point where he believed he had chosen death. Thankfully, the desire to live ultimately triumphed even though there was to be more than one battle and he could never claim that the war against addiction was won for once and for all.

Cash's relationship with the music industry had many ups and downs. In latter years, there were more downs than ups as the objective of wooing a youthful audience reigned supreme. Nevertheless, he pays tribute to those who helped him in his career. There are also interesting insights into the lives and personalities of performers such as Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, his next-door neighbour of many years. He writes lovingly of his family. His most moving tribute is saved for his wife, June Carter Cash, a successful entertainer in her own right and member of the famous Carter Family.

Changeling

Melissa Diem

Tiboli

This is a complex and inspiring novel. While a work of fiction, much of the inspiration for it comes from, the author's own life. The opening sentence alone is memorable. My first vision of the universe is indelibly imprinted in my head. The central theme is that of acceptance. While not in the least preachy, this is a book we can all learn from.

The central character, Jean has been rejected by her mother. (Her father is scarcely in evidence at all although there are five children in the family.) She is the one who can never do anything right. The resultant emotional damage is portrayed rather frighteningly. A minor accident causes her to consider her future. She decides she must escape in order to create a new life for herself. Her mission is to have a baby to replace the love that has been missing from her life. She becomes pregnant following a one night stand yet this does not seem sleazy or at least downright irresponsible, as it might well do, but as part of some master plan. It soon becomes obvious that her baby-daughter is severely disabled. Jean has decided to call her Sugar Pea until she comes up with a permanent name although one suspects that she will remain Sugar Pea. Sugar Pea is Jean's salvation. Towards the end, the narrative becomes alarmingly far-fetched and the reader is relieved to finally learn that there is an explanation. (Apparently, emotional disturbance can manifest itself in strange ways.) Jean's fascination with the stars, atoms, creation and such adds an interesting extra dimension.

Melissa Diem and her partner, Peter's seven-year-old daughter, Saoirse suffers from Down Syndrome and epilepsy. Although she can't speak and has a profound loss of motor control, she is a happy child. Melissa also has two daughters, Jessica and Melanie, from an earlier relationship. She was born in New York in 1965 to an Irish mother and an American father. The family moved to Orlando, Florida for four years before settling in Ireland when she was twelve years old. Changeling is a wonderful achievement in itself but what makes it even more so is that Melissa has dyslexia. She is multitalented. Her sculpture is applauded for her idiosyncratic style. Her research into Saoirse's condition prompted her to take a degree in psychology. She wrote Changeling because it's the kind of novel she'd have liked to read herself when struggling to come to terms with her youngest daughter's disabilities. She's working on a second novel, which is bound to be eagerly awaited.

Fat God, Thin God

James Kennedy

James Kennedy served in the Philippines as a missionary priest with the Columban order between 1970 and 1977. This is primarily an account of his experiences during those years. His sincerity is striking. Those in religious life, particularly those in missionary orders, have tended to be viewed as a breed apart. It has been easy to forget that these are mere human beings struggling with huge problems such as poverty, severe climatic conditions, the need to adjust to vast cultural differences, language barriers, geographical isolation and loneliness. In such circumstances, it is easy to doubt the validity of one's work/mission.

There are plenty of lighter moments in Fat God, Thin God. These include a brief account of an incident in which two nuns almost came to blows over which of them will be first to receive swimming lessons from the Parish Priest. It emerges that both already knew how to swim. A warm camaraderie existed between Kennedy and his missionary colleagues. He seems to have a great capacity for relating to people, especially women. He certainly has a talent for letter-writing. Indeed, much of the book is made up of his letters to his friend, Annette Rowland. This is part of its appeal.

James Kennedy was over forty years old when he met and fell in love with Filipino nun and journalist, Vising Benavidez. (He jokes that he comes from a family of late developers, his father having married at forty-eight years of age.) Huge decisions had to be made by both of them. Vising contributes a section to Fat God, Thin God. Like her husband, she writes with a refreshing air of honesty. Both seem confident that there will, one day, be women priests and married priests.

Kennedy pays tribute to the priests and nuns with whom he has come into contact during his years as a missionary. However, he is critical of the Roman Catholic Church as an institution. He argues strongly against compulsory celibacy as a requisite for the priesthood.

Fat God Thin God is for those interested in the stories if those who have chosen a different way of life. It is an inspiring, poignant, occasionally humorous and, ultimately, somewhat disturbing read. It also provides food for thought.

From Claire to Here

Judi Curtin

Tivoli

€9.99

Judi Curtin comes from Cork though she now lives in Limerick with her husband and three children. Author of the bestselling Sorry, Walter, this is her charming second novel and is set to establish her firmly among Ireland's leading women authors. Perfect for the beach or the back-garden, it combines depth with entertainment value.

Claire is a memorable heroine. She is regarded as eccentric. She is often seen on her high Nelly bicycle and she exhibits a total disdain for fashion - she doesn't even own a mobile phone. She has a loving husband, James - even if his over-protective mother, Maisie is relentless in reminding her of her non-existent culinary skills - and her four-year-old daughter, Lizzie is as angelic as a human child can be. Yet she is far from happy, much as she seeks to delude herself otherwise. Why remains a mystery for quite some time. Clearly, past events cast a dark shadow over life. The reader slowly becomes aware that she hovers close to the brink of psychological disorder. Why doesn't she have any friends? She erects an impenetrable barrier whenever anyone threatens to get too close.

In a stroke of rare good fortune, Claire wins twenty thousand euro on a scratch-card. She sees it as a means of escape. She is soon planning a year travelling around the world for James, Lizzie and herself. To her dismay, James refuses to fall in with her dreams. This causes much tension between them. As a compromise, it is decided that she and Lizzie will spend the summer in Greece, exchanging their suburban home in Douglas, Cork for the rather more exotic setting of Mykonos where she spent the summer with two friends fifteen years earlier - scene of happy memories as well as the worst of her life. One senses that one is coming closer to discovering the source of her deep-seated unhappiness.

In fairytale Mykono, Claire and Lizzie meet Ross, handsome, kind and separated, and his young son, Alistair. Lizzie and Alistair take to each other immediately. Claire and Ross - well, there's a lot of chemistry here. Chemistry aside, he is a good friend in her time of need. Can she turn her back on him? Only there is still, James, whom she loves. But has she a marriage to return to? Time alone will answer these questions.

From Claire to Here is for anyone who enjoys romantic novels but likes them to be a little different.

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Tracy Chevalier

Harper Collins

€9.99

This novel is slow-moving yet it holds the attention from beginning to end. The setting is the city of Delft in 17^th century Holland. When her father, a tile painter, is blinded in an accident at work, sixteen-year-old Griet is forced to contribute financially to save her family from destitution. Her mother finds her a job as a maid to the family of the real-life artist, Johannes Veneer. (Little is known of the actual details of Veneer's life.)

For the purposes of this work of fiction, Veneer is furnished with a seemingly always pregnant wife, Catharina, a consequently growing number of children and a mother-in-law, Maria Thins, who, it soon becomes clear, is the one really in charge of the running of the household. They are Catholics, unlike Griet's family who are Pritestants.

Veneer and Catharina visit Griet's home to meet her. They agree to take her on although it is the artist who really makes the decision, apparently taking a liking to her straightaway. As a consequence, his wife regards Griet with antipathy from the outset. Griet's work is hard. Her hands are soon raw from washing clothes. She is homesick. She's only allowed to visit her family on Sundays although they only live a short walk away.

Although Griet's duties include cleaning his studio, it is some time before she comes to Veneer's attention again. Then however, she becomes his assistant, mixing his paints for him, sometimes even making helpful suggestions. Meanwhile, a sort of courtship begins between her and Pieter the butcher although this is really at his instigation and that of her parents. She is trapped by their poverty, which decrees that a butcher in the family would be useful.

Griet's situation becomes gradually more complicated with an intensifying sense of impending doom. Tracy Chevalier's style is subtle rather than dramatic. She pays close attention to detail. It is no surprise that Girl with a Pearl Earring has been made into a successful film.

giving up the ghost - a memoir

Hilary Mantel

Harper Perennial

€11.91

Best-selling English novelist of Irish descent, Hilary Mantel's memoir is rather bleak. It would be depressing indeed but for her wry sense of humour and courageous spirit. Her childhood is far from the happiest. Her parents separate and she never sees her father again. Also, she is beset by ill health and insecurity. She feels less important than her two younger brothers. On the lighter side, as a small child, she eagerly awaits the day she will become a boy. From an early age, she displays imagination and an independent streak.

Young Hilary develops a strange medical condition which goes undiagnosed for many years. Being prescribed anti-depression leads to much suffering. The incompetence of the medical profession is clearly to blame. Nevertheless, she studies law, encountering sex discrimination, the notion that women shouldn't practise in this area widely prevalent

Mantel's early childhood in particular is described in too much detail, making for dull reading. However, there are more interesting episodes and she offers perceptive insights on human nature. Giving up the ghost is more educational (using the word in its broadest sense) than entertaining. Despite the author's undeniable wit, it wouldn't be ideal beach or bedtime reading. It is complex at times and could induce nightmares.

Hannah's Gift

Maria Housden

Element

Paperback

€10.40

This is a special book about a special little girl. Everyone would like to change the world for the better but it seems virtually impossible. Yet Hannah accomplishes just that without consciously trying. Her true story, written by her mother, an author who proves more than equal to the immense task, is both heart-breaking and inspirational.

Hannah is just three years old when diagnosed with cancer. Anyone who doesn't cry when reading Hannah's Gift doesn't have a heart. However, there are many happy moments throughout the months of her illness. Also, her family do find true happiness again following her death even if this takes some time. Indeed, it can be said that her short life teaches them to experience joy of a higher quality than they might otherwise have done.

It has been said that the truest measure of a life is not its length but the fullness in which it is lived. Hannah's story certainly bears this out. Her joy in living is evident from our first introduction to her when she falls in love with a pair of red shoes in a shop. Trying them on, she dances for all she is worth, attracting an appreciative audience. She also faces terminal illness with great courage as well as displaying a startling understanding of her situation for one so young.

It seems that Hannah creates a lasting impression on everyone she meets. When she is first examined by a doctor at the hospital, she insists that he tell her his real (first) name. Any students present must introduce themselves similarly. This not only sets the pattern for her subsequent treatment, but also for future practise at the hospital. Hannah proves instrumental in bringing about other changes in the hospital regime as well.

Hannah's Gift is Maria Housden's story as well as her daughter's. She shares with us what she has learned through Hannah's illness and death. The book is aptly sub-titled, Lessons From a Life Fully Lived. Maria has clearly changed as a person. Her faith has deepened. Her attitude to suffering, her own and other people's, has changed. She has acquired the courage to be more truly herself without being limited by the expectations of others. She has learned to treasure every moment.

I'm Not Scared

Niccolo Ammaniti

Canongate

This novel is absorbing if somewhat bewildering. Don't expect to understand the events behind the story - unless maybe if you have a knowledge of recent Italian history. Much remains unexplained. The experiences related are beyond those of the average reader although they may not be nearly so unusual in times of conflict or unrest. The story is told from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy, this being done remarkably well. Although the darker side of human nature is highlighted, there are happy moments too and the magic of childhood is here as well as its more sinister elements.

The setting is rural Italy in the hot summer of 1978. (The depiction of the heat might even make one appreciate a typical Irish summer.) There seems to be wheat growing everywhere. The children enjoy an uncommon degree of freedom. The community consists of just a few families. The novel begins with a display of juvenile cruelty but a not so childish act of heroism saves the day. These events lead to our young hero, Michele Amitrano making a sinister discovery which makes what went before pale into insignificance. He finds a boy tied up with a chain in an abandoned house. At first, he believes him to be dead but, on returning, finds that he is alive. The stranger doesn't talk much sense. Although Michele has resolved to keep his discovery a secret, he soon changes his mind and decides to tell his father. However, fate intervenes and he doesn't get to tell him.

Michele is a sensitive child with a lively imagination. He has a five-year-old sister, Maria. (It must be said that at the end she behaves with a maturity scarcely conceivable in one so young. However, this is a minor quibble.) Until now, their father has worked away from home a lot and their mother has seemed fiercely unhappy in his absence. However, he announces now that he is home for good. At night-time, Michele happens to hear his father and the local men, all of whom have gathered in the Amitranos' home, engaged in intent discussion. A news-item comes on television involving a distrait woman begging for the safe release of her abducted son. From the reactions of the men, including that of his father, Michele concludes that the boy kept prisoner in the abandoned house is her son and that they all share the responsibility for his abduction. One wonders if this can be put down to his active imagination. Yet there are questions to be answered. His secret is certainly a dangerous one.

Leaves from the Fig Tree

Diana Duff

This autobiography was certainly one that cried out to be written. In many ways, Diana Duff's experiences differ vastly from most people's. Coming from an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, most of her childhood was spent in Ireland, while her adult life has been lived in Africa. The reader is introduced to two sharply contrasting worlds and given interesting insights into both.

Diane was born in Johannesburg in 1932, but abandoned by her mother as a baby. She was raised by her eccentric grandparents at Annes Grove in Co. Cork, a stately house renowned for its beautiful gardens. However, the closest thing to a mother in her life is the housekeeper, Molly O;Reilly. Hers was a rather lonely childhood. Her father's visits were few and far between as he and his parents didn't see eye to eye. She was taught by a series of governesses. One had planned to come for three weeks but stayed for three years - Diane's beloved "Kitten". An earlier governess is described as a sadist.

Still in her late-teens, Diane joined her father in Uganda. From the beginning, she felt a strong affinity to the continent of Africa. She found the freedom of her new life intoxicating. Away from Ireland and drunk with freedom, I saw life as an enormous glittering Christmas tree and myself with carte blanche to take what I liked from it. (Heady stuff.) She worked as a stand-in for Grace Kelly in the film., Mogambo This wasn't as glamorous as it sounds. She also worked briefly as a nurse.

Diana married a young officer in the Colonial Services, having nursed him when he was in hospital with malaria. Their travels took them to various parts of Africa. They experienced war and peace, meeting many colourful characters over the years. Perhaps the most compelling chapter of their lives is their time in Johannesburg during the most exciting years in South African history.

Diana eventually met her mother. The meeting did not go particularly well. However, when she met her half-brother, Norman some years later, an instant bond formed between them. She did, finally, learn something that made her realise that her mother hadn't been quite as heartless as she'd believed.

Diana Duff writes with charm, wit and understanding of human nature.

Living to Tell the Tale

Gabriel Garcia Màrquez

Jonathan Cape

€27

This is a most frustrating book. It should make a wonderful read. The opening chapters are a delight. However, it deteriorates slowly but steadily to the point where one wonders if the beginning could really have been as fascinating as one has imagined.

Living to Tell the Tale is the first volume of a planned trilogy which will form the author's autobiography. It would probably have been wiser to condense his life-story so as to fit it all into this book. Close to five hundred pages of quite small print is too much for just a third of anyone's life.

As it says on the sleeve, Gabriel Garcia Màrquez is considered to be possibly the most acclaimed, revered and widely read writer of our time. His works include Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude, which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.

As one would expect, this memoir does have a great deal to offer. Màrquez's account of his childhood is absorbing. His style is both eloquent and conversational - a compelling blend. He writes vividly and it is easy to share his experiences. He is enthusiastic about life, clearly having lived his to the full. He shows a deep understanding of human nature. His warmth and sympathy towards others always shines through.

Interestingly, Màrquez introduces the book with the sentence, Life is not what one lives, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it. Sometimes, the line between fact and fiction becomes rather hazy, with reality, imagination and legend becoming entangled.

Living to Tell the Tale is translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman. A native of the former Spanish colony of Colombia, Màrques's revelations of the Colombian/Spanish culture are interesting. His large and colourful extended family play a major role in his childhood. Civil war and political unrest are part of his story. He describes his and his family's abject poverty without self-pity.

The one major defect in Living to Tell the Truth is Màrquez's tendency to go into excessive detail. This is particularly true of his student days and his journalistic and literary careers, making for a lot of academic and dry reading. Be prepared to gloss over passages or even pages. Nevertheless, despite its faults, this book is certainly worth a read. That which is good in it is excellent.

Looking Good

Tracy Culleton

Poolbeg

This is the worthy winner of the Open House Write a Bestseller competition. It certainly has the two chief ingredients for a bestseller - an engrossing plot and convincing flesh-and-blood characters.

Graimne Quinn seems to have it all - a happy marriage, a fulfilling career, close friends, and a comfortable lifestyle. The only thing missing from her life is a child. She is becoming rather obsessive about this lack. However, her qualities include honesty, vitality and a sense of humour - black when necessary. She is going to need these just to survive let alone grow as a person as she does.

The scene is set for the entry of Darren Brogan into Grainne's life. Through a chance encounter, he turns her life upside-down with his deranged violence. Her relationships with her family, her career, her marriage and her sanity are all at stake.

In Looking Good, good comes out of evil, but at a terribly high price. The question is is the price too high. Grainne emerges a stronger person. This novel is surprisingly readable given that it portrays every woman's worst nightmare - possibly every man's too.

With the possible exception of its title, there is nothing superficial about Looking Good. It is about love, friendship, forgiveness and survival. It involves a suspense-filled court-case. One is always conscious of the very real possibility of the verdict being the wrong one.

Largely, what makes Looking Good such an enjoyable read is its cast, mostly although certainly not exclusively likeable. Everyone should have a friend like Sinead. (Grainne has other wonderful friends too.) Indeed, for women, a husband like Patrick wouldn't go amiss. On the other hand, she is cursed with the mother from hell. Her father and brother simply do what they're told.

Many readers will look forward to further novels from Tracy Culleton. Looking Good will be a hard act to follow.

Lucia, Lucia

Adriana Trigiani

Pocket Books

€8.99

Romance, betrayal, the joys and sorrows of family life, friendship and ambition are all ingredients of this heart-warming story. Most of it is set in New York's Little Italy in the early 1950s. Lucia Sartori is a modern young woman, reluctant to give up her career for marriage. (There are reminders everywhere that it is still a man's world.) Of course, it might be different if she found the right man. Or can it really be that she is destined to be unlucky in love because of a curse put on her before she was born? Apparently, Italians are traditionally big into curses

Lucia and her three best friends, Ruth, Helen and Violet have glamorous jobs as seamstresses in a Fifth Avenue department-store. She is the most ambitious of the four and has dreams of advancing in her career. A chance encounter with a handsome stranger does alter matters considerably. When Lucia falls head over heels in love with someone from a different background, it is his job to win over her parents. Her mother is charmed by him but her father remains suspicious of him. A grocer himself, Antonio Sartori can't make much sense of an entrepreneur who will dabble in any kind of trade but refuses to specialise. This causes serious friction between father and daughter although he does eventually set aside his own feelings for fear of losing her.

Characters such as the independent but loyal Lucia, her temperamental mother who seems fated to always be disappointed by her brood yet is devoted to all of them, her gentle father, the enigmatic John Talbot, the faithful but predictable Dante DeMartino and Delmarr, talented fashion designer and confirmed bachelor make this novel memorable. Adriana Trigiani writes with warmth, wit and poignancy. The author of a bestselling trilogy beginning with Big Stone Gap, all four of her books to date are to be made into movies. It isn't difficult to see why. Many women will love Lucia, Lucia, and more than a few men too.

MOMENTUM

The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People

Mo Mowlam

Coronet

€10.99

This is essentially a documentation of developments in Northern Ireland between 1996 and 2002. Mowlam also writes on her experiences of being diagnosed and treated for a brain tumour and her work in the Cabinet Office following her period as Secretary of State.

As a person, it is difficult to dislike Mo Miwlam. Her warmth, courage, integrity, compassion and capacity for hard work are all evident in her book. That she worked so tirelessly for peace despite ill health makes her achievements all the more outstanding. Also, she gives credit unstintingly where it is due. She doesn't indulge in self-pity, dealing humorously with the loss of her hair due to radiotherapy and her rapid weight-gain through the use of steroids.

As one would expect, the strife-torn marching-seasons of the mid-90s, the peace-talks, the Good Friday Agreement, the North-South Referendum, the Hillsborough Declaration and the Omagh bombing are all outlined. Mowlam expresses frustration at the ups and downs of what must have been a demanding yet tedious process for all those involved. Few could have seen the light at the end of such a long tunnel.

On hindsight, one can see how it may have taken someone with Mowlam's flexibility of mind to make such a positive contribution to the Peace Process. She instinctively understood the necessity to take all shades of opinion into account. She showed great courage in visiting both Republican and Loyalist prisoners to discuss developments with them in the face of vast opposition.

Clearly, working under Tony Blair presented serious problems for Mowlam. She seems to believe that he couldn't accept her immense popularity. She also contends that he didn't give his ministers enough freedom to make their own decisions, interfering relentlessly and unnecessarily.

In her preface, Mowlan states her objective of writing a "readable" book on Northern Ireland politics, having read others and found them lacking according to this criterion. She largely succeeds. Her style is conversational in keeping with her personality. Be warned however, a keen interest in politics in general and that of Northern Ireland in particular is required as the subject-matter is rather weighty. As indicated earlier, there is some light relief, but much of this is in the early part of the book.

My Story (The Official Book)

Daniel O'Donnell

The O'Brien Press Ltd

This autobiography was first published in 1999 but this is the new revised edition. This is a "must read" for Daniel O'Donnell's legions of fans. Indeed, anyone with even a passing interest in the phenomenally popular entertainer will find it worth a read. Those who have followed his career will know what to expect and it will certainly live up to their expectations.

A lot of the information won't be particularly new as Daniel's life and career have been so well covered by the media. However, this is rather less true of his childhood and growing-up years. Many will be interested to learn of the mystic powers attributed to his father as a result of being a seventh son. In the only section of the book not penned by Daniel himself, his mother, Julia gives an account of her extremely hard life. Also, there are fascinating personal glimpses. Here is an example. It would be easy to assume that practically everyone owns a watch. Not Daniel. His attitude to money is unusual too.

Anyone hoping for the disclosure of dark secrets will go away disappointed. The only thing that springs to mind is missing Mass a very odd time. It is possible to think that Daniel is too good to be true. However, if `there are any skeletons skulking among those exquisite suits of his, they have yet to be de-closeted. His detractors will find grounds to mock. Yet perhaps if they persisted in reading his book they'd experience something of a conversion, albeit reluctantly. He is not averse to making jokes at his own expense. What is more, he writes with almost disconcerting honesty.

Daniel's style of writing echoes his manner of speech. He is a born communicator. Perhaps this is the key to his success. In some ways, he is a man of paradoxes, curiously blending naivety and wisdom, humility and confidence, sociability and self-sufficiency. His dedication to his fans is ever apparent. He is more than an entertainer. He describes movingly his contact with the children at a Romanian orphanage and his mission to give them a better life. Perhaps he could have written in greater depth on this aspect of his life.

It isn't true to say that My Story holds no surprises. Daniel's account of his experiences in Medjugorje is certainly strange. His faith is clearly central to his life.

No More Tears In My Eyes - The Story of Kathleen Kilbane

Bro, M. A. Conway

This jewel of a booklet (just 40 pages in all) is as beautiful as it is sad. This is the story of a friendship, even a love story in the broadest sense of the term. If you're in search of excitement, this isn't for you. A simpler and perhaps more innocent time is recalled here. On the other hand, if you like to read something you'll always remember, look no further.

On 12 July 1946, Katherine Kilbane, not quite twelve years old, very much alone in the world and seriously ill with TB, arrived at the sanatorium in Creagh two and a quarter miles from the town of Balllinrobe in Co. Mayo. Brother Anselm Conway would be virtually her only visitor. After her death the following year, he wrote No Tears In My Eyes. He went on to make at least six copies in his own handwriting, none of them quite the same. Now, it has been published. The editor, Fr Brian McKevitt has included his own notes on the text. There are also two letters from Kathleen to Brother Anselm. The book's charm stems largely from its personal nature.

It soon become evident that Brother Anselm believed Katherine to be a saint. She may have been. She comes across as being both saintly and ordinary. She knew moments of frustration and weakness yet her generous spirit, cheerfulness and courage are an inspiration to all. Brother Anselm may have been a saint too. His compassion shines from the pages.

No More Tears In My Eyes is certainly sad but there are happy moments too, such as when Kathleen receives Christmas presents for the first time in her life. These have been sent to her by the pupils of the local boys' school.

This booklet also serves as a social document, showing what outcasts those who contracted TB were.

No More Tears In My Eyes can be ordered for €5 (includes postage) from Alive Publications, St Mary's Priory, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Nothing Green

Evelyn Doyle

This is the sequel to the hugely popular Evelyn. Those who have read Evelyn or seen the film of the same name will already be familiar with the plucky daughter of Desmond Doyle who ultimately succeeds in his struggle to regain custody of his children. Unfortunately, this proves far from the "happy ever after" it seems. Indeed, one must wonder at times if the children mightn't have been better off left to the mercies of the institutions. There are good times but these are few and far between. Still, Evelyn Doyle and her brothers are close and manage to have a laugh despite everything.

Poverty is a word that is not used by poor people is the striking opening sentence of Nothing Green. However, grinding poverty is the lot of the Doyles. Desmond Doyle's halo slips sharply when he is confronted by the harsh realities of life. The burden of making ends meet falls largely to Jessie, his new partner. There are good times but these are few and far between. Jessie is hostile towards Evelyn from the beginning. The reason for this isn't revealed for many years.

The family move to England in search of a better life, which does not materialise. Evelyn's school-friends, who generally come from much more comfortably off families, show her considerable generosity even though the fact that she is going to a Protestant school causes her some anxiety for the salvation of her soul. Despite displaying academic ability, she is forced to leave school before her fifteenth birthday to work in Woolworths. She enjoys the companionship of her colleagues.

Evelyn's marriage to Derek Stones turns out surprisingly well despite the most inauspicious of beginnings. However, she wants children while he does not. She accepts the situation and finds fulfilment in making a career for herself, first as a psychiatric nurse, later as a police officer. Even so, the future doesn't turn out quite as she plans it. Fate has still a few tricks up her sleeve.

Nothing Green makes for bleak reading in places. However, all is not doom and gloom and there are happier times. Occasionally, the swift changes of mood give the reader a sense of being on an emotional roller-coaster. Evelyn Doyle's immense courage and boundless optimism see her through when a weaker person would have given way to despair. Her spirit of generosity, compassion and forgiveness always shines through.

One More Chance

Liz Ryan

Coronet

€8.99

Charm, insight, depth, humour, atmosphere, the element of surprise and worthwhile characters, One More Chance has everything. It is especially aptly named in that many of the characters do get one more chance in life. It resembles a fairytale in ways yet it is all achieved quite realistically.

Aileen Hegarty is rather bored with life. While she still loves her husband, Joe, she feels that they are very much stuck in a rut. Her B&B business has suffered badly due to the events of September 11. Their 20-yr-old son, Finn seems resigned to never succeeding at anything. Yet she has big dreams. She desperately wants to give them all a new life. To Joe and Finn's dismay, she decides that moving to the continent is the answer, setting her sights on France.

Shona Fitzpatrick is beautiful and intelligent. Yet she finds herself losing her job and her boyfriend all at once. Brendan Wright is only the last in a long line of men to come and go in her life but she was very much inclined to believe him to be the one she would spend the rest of her life with. At a loose end and nursing a broken heart, she finds herself accompanying Aileen Hegarty, whom she knows from her work in tourism, to the south of France to help her search for a suitable property

There are a lot of unexpected twists and turns in One More Chance. Liz Ryan certainly can't be accused of predictability. All of the characters grow through their experiences, giving it an optimistic feel although there is plenty of conflict. Throughout the story, they show previously unsuspected aspects of their personalities.

Much of the novel is set in the South of France. Therein lies some of its charm. While this portrayal of that country is critical in certain respects, the over-all impression is rather alluring

One Room an Everywhere

Catherine Phil MacCarthy

Given her lyrical style of writing, it is not surprising to learn that Catherine Phil MacCarthy has two volumes of poetry to her credit. She held the position of writer-in-residence for the City of Dublin in 1994, and also for University College Dublin in 2002. One Room an Everywhere is an impressive debut novel. She explores the problems and complexities of relationships with sensitivity.

Eve, from Dingle, Co. Kerry, has moved to Dublin and then London in search of a new life. Twenty-six years old, she finds work as a reader with a publishing house. She quickly falls in love with her South African boss, Patrick, eighteen years her senior and divorced. The age gap makes itself `felt in unusual ways. She is aware of the vast difference in their life experiences.

Then, there is the problem of Patrick's teenage daughter, Kate, who is fiercely jealous of him. She certainly isn't prepared to countenance the presence of another woman in his life.

Actually, Eve can readily empathise with Kate's feelings, coming from a broken home herself. As well as complicating her and Patrick's romance, the young girl's hostility evokes memories from the pass, forcing her to come to terns with unresolved emotions, particularly towards her own father, now dead.

A crisis develops. Eve and Patrick's relationship is severely tested. Can it survive against such odds? There is also the question of whether she is yet ready to give him the total commitment he wants from her. Within her, a conflict rages between her love for him and her desire for freedom and independence.

Eve makes a journey of self-discovery, often painful but ultimately enlightening and fulfilling.

The author displays a capacity for humour. There is an incident where one of Eve's colleagues expresses affection for Cromwell of all people. Imagine that! Catherine Phil MacCarthy pays attention to the minor details that so often give life its flavour. This is a novel one can easily imagine being made into a film. Many readers will look forward with interest to further novels from her.

Pompeii

Robert Harris

This is a most unusual tale, set in the time of the Roman Empire. On the evidence of this book, few would wish to have lived during this famous historical era. Apparently, it was considered cool to feed disobedient slaves to the eels - obviously a rather larger species than we in Ireland are familiar with. What makes it all the more horrible is that this unthinkable cruelty is perpetrated by a former slave.

Hipponax is the hapless slave whose fate is outlined above. Ampliatus is his sadistic owner. The alleged crime is allowing Ampliatus' expensive red mullet to die. Poor Hipponax pleads his innocence to the bitter end, (When one is eaten alive by monster eels the end is guaranteed to be bitter indeed.) calling out for the aquarius - the engineer in charge of the great aqueduct which brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. Corelia, Ampliatus' daughter, unlike her father, does have a heart. She takes pity on Hipponax's mother, Atia and accompanies her in her search of the aquarius - Atrilius.. Atillius arrives on the scene too late to save Hipponax but he does vindicate him, making an arch-enemy of Ampliatus, a very powerful man.

Attillius is new to the position of aquarius, his predcessor, Exomnius having disappeared without a trace. He is intent on finding out what happened to Exomnius. He is an honest man, a dangerous thing to be when the powers that be are thoroughly corrupt. A crisis develops and the aqueduct is in need of repair. He has had terrible troubles in his personal life too. He is haunted by the tragedy in his past. However, romance springs up between him and Corelia, a romance that seems doomed. What no one knows is that a far worse fate awaits the people of wealthy Pompeii than the threat to the water supply.

The events of Pompeii take place over a period of four days.

QUENTINS

Maeve Binchy

Orion

Maeve Binchy's legions of fans were disappointed at the news that Scarlet Feather was to be the last of her novels. However, this will add to their delight that she has written another. They will not be disappointed at her latest offering. Quentins is Binchy at her best. It holds the attention from beginning to end.

The central character, Ella Brady is a most likeable young woman. Unfortunately, she becomes involved with the first-class cad, Don Richardson. As slimy charmers go, Richardson is the slimiest and most charming. One possible flaw is that Ella may be perceived as more gullible than any woman could be. However, this detracts little from what is an entertaining and absorbing read.

Quentins gets its name from the restaurant, Quentins, which has become such an established feature of Dublin life that it is the subject of a proposed television documentary. The stories of patrons and staff who have had life-altering experiences at Quentins would be aired. There is the question of whether some of these will ultimately prove too personal for public consumption. There is a large cast of realistic characters with interesting tales to tell. These include a few old friends who will be well known to Binchy fans such as the Signora from Evening Class and those unforgettable twins, Maud and Simon from Scarlet Feather but there are plenty of new faces as well.

When her love-life falls apart in the most dramatic way. Ella Brady, partly to take her mind off her troubles, goes to New York in a bid to persuade philanthropic second-generation Irish entrepreneur, Derry King to finance the proposed documentary on Quentins. He proves something of an enigma. It turns out that he has expressed an interest in providing funds in the belief that the documentary will portray the Irish in a negative light. Haunted by an unhappy childhood, he has resolved never to visit his father's native country. Still, a friendship springs up between Ella and Derry. When she receives distressing news of her faithless lover he agrees to accompany her on her return home.

A few more twists of fate lie in store before the dramatic climax and satisfying conclusion.

Remember Me

Lesley Pierce

Remember Me, set in the late 1700s, tells the story of Mary Broad, its heroine memorable for her courage, endurance, resourcefulness and generosity. Remarkably, there actually was such a person and this novel is based on events from real life. A word of warning, it often makes for harrowing reading.

The daughter of a sailor and coming from a poor family, Mary longs for adventure, never dreaming that her life will contain rather more by way of adventure than anyone could ever want. She leaves her hometown of Fowey in Cornwall and goes to Plymouth. Many years will pass and the inconceivable will happen before she is finally reunited with her family. Illiterate though sharp-witted, she fails to find work and falls into bad company. She and her two companions are arrested for the theft and sentenced to death by hanging but their sentences are commuted to transportation for seven years. She is understandably grateful for her life being spared. However, there will be times when she will believe that death would have been a blessing after all.

For Mary, the months and years bring unimaginable suffering- squalor, near-starvation, degradation, terror and bereavement. On the voyage to Australia, finding that desperation can drive one to the otherwise unthinkable, she becomes the lover of Officer Spencer Graham in return for small material benefits such as extra food and water to wash in occasionally. Another officer, Watkin Tench, a man of high principles, is also destined to play a major role in her life. Despite his own feelings for her, he encourages her to marry fellow convict, Will Bryant.

Despite many hardships, Mary finds happiness of a sort. Nevertheless, she is driven by the need to escape and return to England. Masterminding a breathtakingly daring plan, she and her chosen companion carry it out in the face of immense dangers.

This is an inspirational if sometimes shattering tale of the triumph of the human spirit over scarcely imaginable adversity. The characters, particularly Mary, are bound to live in the mind long after the last page is turned..

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

This is an unusual novel. Not least in the unusual manner in which it is constructed. It is, as it were, a novel within a novel. Grantly Dixon is an American journalist and aspiring novelist travelling home from famine-torn Ireland. He is a character in his own novel as well as the author. As well as reading his novel based on his eventful voyage, peopled by his colourful fellow-passengers, we have access to various materials, such as the captain's ledger, that he uses as research. This isn't as complicated as it sounds although O'Connor's attempts to make the book appear factual can be somewhat confusing.

Star of the Sea is an epic tale of love, hate, revenge and forgiveness. Although the events described are often harrowing, there is an underlying sense of hope for the human condition. Leading characters include both first-class and steerage passengers. The gulf between rich and poor is sharply highlighted. However, the author is careful to avoid blanket judgements.

The Star of the Sea's passengers include Pius Mulvey, a farm-labourer, driven from the land by the Famine. First, he makes money as a ballad-singer, later turning to a life of theft. The plot resolves largely around his dark secret. David Meredith has inherited his landlord father's estate. He, too, has more than his fair share of skeletons in the cupboard. What he doesn't know is that his life is under threat. Mary Duane, once a maid, has been forced to turn to prostitution just to eat. The aforementioned Grantly Dixon is in love with Meredith's wife. Relationships between these four leading characters are often complex.

Star of the Sea has plenty of drama and suspense. There are surprises to hold the attention right to the end. Joseph O'Connor is an author of immense talent. He has a rare understanding of the workings of people's minds and hearts. His gift for vivid and distinctive description is striking.

The Amateur Marriage

Anne Tyler

€13.50

This novel is essentially the story of a marriage - Michael and Pauline's. It is the story of their lives too - they have three children, one of whom rebels with shocking consequences; yet it is their relationship which always holds centre stage, eclipsing actual events.

If love were the be all end all, our hapless hero and heroine would be the happiest couple around. It is certainly a case of love at first sight when, directly following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, Pauline makes her dramatic entrance at the Anton family grocery store in the Polish quarters of Baltimore with a cut on her face. Almost at once, young Michael, known for his reticence rather than his boldness, enlists for army service just to impress her. When he returns home, having been shot in the hip supposedly accidentally by a comrade bearing a grudge, they wed without delay, hasty marriages being the order of the day.

Sadly, their marriage turns out to be a monumental mistake, one which might well had been averted if they'd taken the time to get to know each other properly. Pauline and Michael are just too utterly different. She is impulsive, hot-tempered and unpredictable. He is cautious, practical and utterly predictable. Both are likeable people, but often anything but nice to each other. Their fights are legendary. So also are their reconciliations.

There are huge questions. Can the marriage survive? Will they ultimately destroy each other? What will the impact of their tumultuous relationship be on their children and even their grandchildren? Will love prevail over everything? And there is a great deal for it to prevail over.

Anne Tyler has a rare talent for getting inside her character's skins so that it is easy to feel that one actually knows them. She also captures distinctive qualities in a way that appeals to the imagination For example, Michael's mother is described thus. She had a way of looking past her customers' shoulders while she dealt with them, as if she hoped someone else would show up, someone less disappointing. There are many poignant moments and many instances of wry humour. The conclusion is satisfying though reached by the most unexpected and unconventional of means - definitely not your traditional happy ending.

The Blank Slate

Steven Pinker

Allen Lane

Many will find this the most fascinating book they've ever read for a while, then grow slowly disenchanted and reach the end with relief. It could certainly benefit from being shorter. Yet it is definitely a worthwhile read. The subject matter is of universal interest though the degree with which people will wish to study it will vary on account of its complexity. It will take more than one reading to assess its true value.

The title comes from the idea that we are born with minds resembling blank slates to be filled in by our life experiences. While understanding the reasons why the notion has been cherished by so many, Pinker argues strongly against it, holding it to be ultimately both foolish and dangerous. Even though the subject is rather academic, his conversational style renders it accessible to the lay person.

Modern science interprets the human mind differently. Pinker explains that while it is easy to think of it as separate from the body and non-physical in nature this is actually not so. His revelations on the workings of the brain are absorbing. He also tells of the important role our genes play in the development of our individual personalities as well as that of the human species as a whole.

According to Pinker, the replacement of the "blank slate" theory has encountered vehement opposition from numerous and various sources. Far from dismissing this opposition, he explains it yet refutes it convincingly. The revelations of modern science have been seen as endangering such sacred concepts as equality and personal responsibility. This is not Pinker's reading of the situation. He argues passionately that correct understanding is vital to building a better world.

Pinker illustrates how the central theme of his scholarly yet readable work reflects on all aspects of life - politics, crime and punishment, economics, the equality of the sexes, child-rearing, morality and culture. The exploration of so many serious and weighty subjects can become tedious. This is not necessarily a criticism as it may be considered important to explore the theme from all angles. It should be said that Steven Pinker occasionally introduces a humorous note. This would not generally be considered ideal reading for bedtime or the beach. However, it must be recommended strongly as a book from which we all can learn a great deal.

The Book of 1000 Beautiful Things and Other Favourites

Hugh Robinson

Ballybay Books

The title suggests hidden treasure and this book lives up to that promise. Fact and fiction are combined here; the first section is comprised of short stories, the second, of reminiscences of the author's travels. Hugh Robinson is famous for his contributions to the BBC Radio Ulster programme, Love Forty. Now, some of his most popular offerings have been collected in book-form. His fans will rejoice while his work is also reaching a brand new audience.

Robinson has a most distinctive voice and unique talent. He has a special place in his heart for the downtrodden. He writes about tramps and street urchins with a respect rarely afforded to them. Nostalgia features strongly in his work, but not in such a way as to make it irrelevant to the present. Old-fashioned values such as generosity, hospitality and compassion are applauded. His love of nature is also evident, particularly in Long Ago and Far Away, a tribute to autumn.

Robinson's writing is often quite magical. Christmas features in a number of the stories. There is even an encounter with Santa Clause himself. Sometimes, the line between pure fantasy and that which belongs to the realm of the possible is delightfully blurred. Dreams coming true is a recurring theme. The author has had many dreams come true and he affords a few of his fictional characters the same luxury. The title story relates a poor boy's Herculean struggle to own a second-hand book so alluringly named.

Much of the second section of this book is devoted to Robinson's Russian travels. He depicts enchantingly both the urban and rural charms of this vast country. Having achieved a degree of fame there, he was invited to speak at a couple of schools. His comments on the system education are interesting, as are the range of insights he gives into Russian life in general. What strikes one most is the hospitality of the people.

There is also a charming piece on Hay, the town of books and an account of Hugh Robinson's friendship with Frankie Laine and the time he spent with the singer at his San Diego home.

The Book of 1000 Beautiful Things and Other Favourites is generally available. It can also be ordered on-line post free at www.cottage-publications.com

The Catalpa Tree

Denyse Devlin

Penguin Ireland

€14.90

Hopefully, this powerful and original debut novel will be the outstanding success it deserves to be. It is rare to find a work of fiction that can be compared with no other but this is such a work. No one who reads it will ever forget Jude Feehan or Oliver Sayle.

Jude, at the age of fourteen years, finds herself as alone as anyone can be when her father, Michael loses his life in a boating accident in Spain, her mother. Catherine having died of cancer nine years before. At least, she'd have no one but for Oliver, Michael's best friend, Michael having once asked him to be her guardian should anything ever happen to him. Oliver and Michael's has been a special friendship. Oliver has always been an important part of Jude's life too.

Jude and Oliver are the best of friends but their friendship will be sorely tried. There will be many ups and downs through the years. To begin with, on top of the trauma of her father's death, there is the shock of learning that he'd been with a woman, unknown to her, with whom he'd fallen in love. Still, she copes well with her bereavement. Too well perhaps. There will be ghosts to be laid to rest much later on. She and Oliver become dependent on one another yet the day comes when they seem destined to destroy each other. For both of them, all other relationships are affected.

As well as being a storyteller supreme, Denyse Devlin has a wonderful way with words, not exactly poetic but definitely effective. Wouldn't anyone love to have a smile that would light up black holes. Another example is when Oliver compares his mother to a frosty morning that will eventually thaw out while Jude prefers to describe her in terms of the Ice Age.

The Catalpa Tree is profound yet surprisingly readable. The themes it explores are universal although few find themselves in such complex situations as Oliver and Jude. Love, friendship, loss, guilt and the quest for independence and personal freedom all feature strongly. Often poignant, sometimes humorous, occasionally shocking, it cries out to be read..

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Mark Haddon

David Fickling Books

€15.60

This Whitbread Award winning novel certainly holds the attention. Perhaps its attraction lies in its curious blend of simplicity and complexity. The central character is fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone who suffers from Asperge's Syndrome, a form of autism. (The condition is never actually mentioned in the book itself though it is named on the jacket.) He is also the narrator. It is an immense achievement to write from the viewpoint of such a person.

Highly intelligent, Christopher is something of a mathematical genius and has a great interest in and understanding of science. His powers of observation put the vast majority of us to shame. He also has a photographic memory. However, his condition presents overwhelming problems for himself and those close to him. He finds it extremely difficult to relate to people. Facial expressions are largely a mystery to him and he hates to be touched. He is averse to change of any kind. He is unable to cope with emotion.

Christopher likes to go out walking after dark when there are few people about to bother him. This is how he comes to be the one to discover the corpse of his neighbour and friend, Mrs Shears' dog, Wellington with a pitchfork stuck in him. When a policeman arrives on the scene, he finds Christopher's behaviour distinctly odd and arrests him. Christopher copes surprisingly well with this and the police finally realise their mistake with the help of his distrait father. However, this is just the beginning of an often frightening adventure for the boy.

Christopher resolves to discover the identity of Wellington's killer. He also decides to write a true murder mystery, telling the story as it unfolds. Murder mysteries are the only type of fiction he likes. Sherlock Holmes is his favourite fictional detective even if he is unimpressed by his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle's belief in the supernatural.

Christopher states that his will not be a funny book as he doesn't understand jokes. Yet there is much humour as well as sadness. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is suitable for older children as well as adults. It is a novel that we can all learn from. It certainly offers a greater understanding of how people with learning disabilities perceive the world around them.

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown

Corgi

€10.40

This incomparable novel goes beyond all expectation. It is a murder mystery, a thriller and an adult fairytale, yet so much more than. It must surely rank among the greatest stories ever written. It also provides much food for thought. Powerful, fascinating, inspiring and ultimately beautiful are just a few of the superlatives that spring readily to mind. It is also highly entertaining.

Jacques Sauniere, the curator of the Louvre Museum is murdered. Yet he manages to leave behind clues. No, not to the identity of his killer but to the solution of a greater puzzle. He has been a life-long devotee of the Holy Grail. Legend has it that the Holy Grail is the chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper. However, a revolutionary alternative possibility is presented here. Brown offers quite a convincing argument for this. How seriously he intends to be taken remains open to question. Some will be offended by what will be perceived as his blasphemy. Still, a respect for the religious beliefs is conveyed.

US lecturer, Robert Langdon finds himself intensely and dangerously embroiled in the mayhem following Sauniere's murder, along with Sauniere's granddaughter, Sophie. The hectic action is interspersed with glimpses of Langdon's world of art and religious icons and symbols. This may sound rather dreary, but rest assured, it is anything but. There are surprises galore along the way.

For a truly magical read, look no further.

the five people you meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom

Little Brown

€18.50

The novel opens on Eddie's eighty-third birthday. He still maintains the rides in an amusement-park, as he has done for many years. Despite being active, he does not feel that he has the happiest of lives. Indeed, he is dogged by a sense of never having achieved anything much.

What Eddie doesn't know is that his time on earth has just about run out. Something goes terribly wrong with one of the rides and, in his struggle to save a little girl's life, loses his own. He doesn't wake up in a plush Garden of Eden.as he might have imagined. Instead, he finds himself a young boy on Ruby Pier, where he has worked for so many years and close to where he has lived all his life. There, he meets the Blue Man, one of those who had been on display to the general public in the "Freak House" of the amusement-park in the days before the advent of television.

It emerges that when you go to heaven you meet five people who have had a major influence on your life. These could certainly include loved ones but they could also include people with whom you've had the briefest of acquaintances or even virtual strangers who, quite unknown to you, have affected your life greatly. It is their job to help you to make sense of your time on earth.

Another important point is that everyone gets to choose their own personal heaven. For example, the Blue Man's is Ruby Pier. Seemingly, he'd been very happy there although one would not initially expect this to be so. Perhaps the most interesting of the six personal heavens depicted consists of a seemingly unending series of rooms, in each of which a wedding reception is in progress. The couples getting married are of all different nationalities. The personal heaven concept has serious limitations. Obviously, constructing heaven is no small task.

For this reviewer at least, the five people you meet in Heaven is a considerable disappointment. The story is quite dull in places and it never fully absorbs the attention. It lacks real emotion, excitement, suspense, colour. If that's heaven, one's inclination might well be to stick around a bit longer. However, this novel does contain some wisdom. Perhaps its chief quality is that it provides food for thought. Its heart is in the right place even if it lacks imagination. The point is to show that ordinary lives can be worthwhile. The problem is that it's too banal to achieve this.

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold

Picador

Suzie Salmon is the dead heroine of The Lovely Bones. Yes, that's right. She has been brutally murdered by a neighbour called George Harvey who makes dolls' houses. She is now in heaven. Everyone has their own personal heaven. What one wishes for appears as soon as one thinks of it. Susie's heaven resembles a school-playground. (You'd think she could at least have gone for a Disneyland style theme park.) She has friends. The one she sees most of is called Holly, the result of Holly's heaven being closest to her own. She and Holly have a counsellor called Fanny to help them adjust to their new lives. However, she cannot have the one thing she wants most, which is to be reunited with her family.

What Suzie can do is watch her family and friends. She does this a lot. She can read people's thoughts. She can watch anyone she likes. She even watches her murderer. It emerges that he is a serial killer. Her father comes to believe (rightly of course) that George Harvey has killed his beloved daughter but there is no evidence to support this conviction.

Suzie views helplessly the impact of her violent death on her family's lives. They each cope with their grief in their own way. What has happened has a disastrous effect on her parents' once happy marriage. Her loved ones each make their individual journeys towards eventual acceptance. She witnesses the good and bad times in their lives.

In the same way as her family and friends find it difficult to let go of her, her involvement with them prevents her from finding true happiness. Perhaps she cannot be free until they are.

Unfortunately, The Lovely Bones fails miserably to live up to the concepts behind it. The first half wavers between being vaguely interesting and slightly boring. After that, it becomes more tedious. Alice Sebold's version of heaven makes the idea of eternal oblivion curiously attractive. There are brighter moments, hinting at Sebold's potential as a writer, but these are much too few and far between to make this novel a worthwhile read.

The Ringmaster's Daughter

Jostein Gaarder

This book is aimed at older children/young adults but will be enjoyed by anyone with a taste for the unusual. Magical, dark, entertaining, absurd, original and complex are all words that can be aptly used to describe it

The Ringmaster's Daughter's opens with Peter Spider hearing voices in his head. We quickly learn that this is more or less a constant state of affairs for him. His hyperactive brain is teeming with ideas. Writing them down is a form of relief. It emerges that he believes that his life may be under threat from an unknown source. Indeed, there are many with possible motives for murdering or having him murdered.

Having found refuge in an Italian hotel, Peter, a Norwegian, begins to write the story of his life. His parents were separated and he soon mastered the art of playing one off against the other. From childhood, he has had a curious sense of being alienated from others, a victim of his own wild imagination.

Peter's mother dies when he is eighteen years old. He is heartbroken. Yet he embarks on an endless series of brief relationships. Then, he meets Maria. They are soul-mates. Nevertheless, the romance seems doomed right from the start. She is fascinated by his stories but frightened at just how much he lives in a fantasy world. Inevitably, they part, but not before she makes a strange bargain with him.

Peter devises a truly novel way of earning a living. He sells his idea to writers, both established and aspiring. Naturally, part of the deal is that his involvement remains a secret. Each if the authors believes themselves to be the only one. It works like a dream for many years. However, when things finally start to fall apart, they do so rather dramatically. Fate plays a most unexpected card. The consequences are startling far beyond what even Peter himself could imagine.

The characters are far from as well developed as they might be. One does not have the feeling of getting to know them very well. On the other hand, this could well be deliberate as the plot is much more important than the characters. This is certainly a novel that clings to the memory.

It may well take more than one reading to absorb the full significance of The Ringmaster's Daughter.

The Speckled People

Hugo Hamilton

Fourth Estate

Anyone with a taste for autobiography and the unusual should seriously consider reading this memoir. It can also be highly recommended for young people. While not hugely entertaining or even immediately gripping, it weaves a slow spell over the reader. Although undoubtedly well-written, its true value lies in its wisdom. One is tempted to believe that if everyone was to read it at an early age it might be a better world. It contains lessons for all of us. This is the story of one family but there is so much in it that is relevant to the whole of humanity.

Hugo Hamilton was born in Dublin in 1953 yet his childhood strikes one as belonging to a different era. It is as far from the average Irish childhood as it is possible to be. His father is Irish, his mother, German. His father truthfully claims never to have carried a gun in the cause of Irish nationalism. However, he is obsessive about the Irish language. Although intelligent and idealistic in many ways, he is prepared to resort to drastic measures to keep English out of his home. This does more to alienate the family than the prejudice against Germans prevalent following World War I. The author's mother, a woman of great gentleness and humour, is the source of much of the wisdom in The Speckled People.

Hamilton tells his parent's stories as well as his own. (It is interesting to note how one's individual experiences contribute to the development of one's character. More importantly, one can choose to learn from these rather than merely react to them.) His father's childhood was marred by a limp and a deformed ear - mainly because he is not accepted by other children. To make matters worse, he has always been ashamed of his father being in the British navy. Hamilton's mother's experiences in war-time Germany were harrowing.

It has been claimed that The Speckled People is about language. It is about life itself. Much of it is written in the present tense, which is effective though slightly disconcerting at first. He writes very much from a child's point of view, illustrating how his understanding grows as the years pass. There are humorous interludes such as when the author's father gets stuck in a bucket which serves as a toilet while on holiday in Connemara. Interestingly, Hugo Hamilton describes his childhood as being filled with happiness and fear.

The Touch

Colleen McCullough

Century

€18.85

The year is 1872. Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Drummond is sold into marriage by her puritanical yet parsimonious father, James. Her husband-to-be, Alexander Kinross is her first cousin even though she's never met him. James hasn't always thought well of his nephew but Alexander has struck gold spectacularly in New South Wales, becoming so powerful as to be able to name a town after himself. Elizabeth is shocked and apprehensive but hopes to learn to love her husband in time.

Despite many fine qualities, Alexander turns out to be someone Elizabeth cannot love. He tells her very little of his past. He forbids her to go to Kinross so that her new home becomes a luxurious prison. Although he is kind to her, he allows her little freedom. She isn't lacking in spirit but she is a product of her harsh Presbyterian upbringing. (Indeed, many of the difficulties between them stem from this.) The world portrayed in The Touch is very much a man's world. In time, she discovers the reason for her virtual imprisonment. Hr doesn't want her to find about his mistress, Ruby Costevan.

Despite great wealth and power, Alexander, too, is a prisoner of the times in which he lives. He won't go against convention by marrying Ruby as she would be deemed an unsuitable wife. (Surprisingly, Elizabeth and Ruby become best friends.) Alexander and Ruby's son, Lee are very close. Despite Ruby's place in his life, Alexander comes to love Elizabeth, enough to be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure her happiness.

Alexander and Elizabeth have two daughters, Nell and Anna. Her life having been endangered by both pregnancies, Elizabeth is advised to have no more children. All of this is a huge disappointment to Alexander who longs for a male heir. Nevertheless, he loves both his children. Nell is a child prodigy while Anna who is mentally-handicapped though exceptionally beautiful. Both are destined to suffer and bring suffering to those who love them as a result of the way they are.

To further complicate an already complex web of relationships, Elizabeth is irresistibly drawn to Ruby's son, Lee, and he to her. Yet it seems that their feelings are destined to remain a secret, even from each other.

If The Touch has a defect, it is that Colleen McCullough devotes too much time to the technical details of mining. This can be somewhat tedious for those with little interest in such matters. However, this is a novel not to be missed by those who enjoy an epic story. The central characters survive adversities that would crush weaker individuals. There is tragedy yet triumph of the human spirit. Perhaps most of all, this is a story of love, in all its forms.

Two for Joy

Patricia Scanlan

The leading characters in this novel certainly lead dramatic and complicated lives.

Noreen's new husband, Oliver is kind and reliable. Unfortunately though, she has two jealous sisters and a hostile mother-in-law to contend with. However, the darkest cloud on her horizon is her failure to conceive. To make matters worse, she has a dark secret from the past, which haunts her. Eventually, her and Oliver's relationship deteriorates so much that she goes to stay with her friend, Kay in London in order to give herself space to consider the future. Fate and other factors take a hand and the situation develops rather alarmingly. Ultimately, matters resolve themselves in a most unconventional fashion.

Following her break-up with her boyfriend, Neil, Heather is persuaded by her cousin, Lorna to move to Dublin with her. However, a country girl at heart, she soon returns to her home-town of Kilronan, making up her differences with Neil. Romance blossoms strongly. She is invaluable to him in sorting out the clerical side of his car sales business. But the question is does he appreciate her enough. Suddenly, his behaviour indicates otherwise. To her horror, he begins to compare her to Lorna whom he has never liked until now. Her more sophisticated and assertive twin, Ruth talks her into visiting a psychic who tells her things that she has no wish to hear. (Interestingly, the psychic, Anne Jensen is the one character in the novel who is actually a real person.)

Lorna is thoroughly self-centred and shallow. She uses Heather shamelessly. She despises Neil until she recognises that he has become a successful businessman. When life in Dublin fails to live up to expectations, she sets her sights on New York. Watch out, Lorna, pride comes before a fall. To be fair, her life has been over-shadowed by a disturbing childhood memory. Perhaps, (and it's a big perhaps) she isn't so totally despicable that she can't learn at least a little from her mistakes.

The ending of Two For Joy is the best part. It is hardly giving too much away to say that Patricia Scanlan can be relied on to ensure that everyone ultimately gets their just deserts.

Tides of Change

John Curran

Kerry-man, John Curran and his family have much reason to celebrate the publication of his autobiography, Tides of Change. He tells of growing up on a farm in a large family in the 40s and 50s. Times were hard and the Currans were far from wealthy. Yet John describes his childhood as idyllic although there is no sense that he is looking at the past through rose-coloured glasses. Anyone who enjoyed Alice Taylor's To School through the Fields will love Tides of Change. It is largely a tribute to his parents and the great love they had for their ten children. His mother, Mary died in 1974. She was just sixty-three. His father, Jim died in 1995.

To fully appreciate John's literary achievements, one must go back to April 1978. It was then that his world came tumbling down when, while helping out a friend, he fell from scaffolding and was paralysed from the neck down. It took him some time to realise the full extent of the huge impact this would have on his life. At thirty-six years old, he had four children aged between 10 years and 5 weeks. A lengthy stay in the National Rehabilitation Centre followed. His wife, Margaret made the journey from Kerry to Dublin each weekend. Such appalling injuries could easily have signalled the bleakest of futures. However, John's indomitable spirit prevailed. Not only did he learn to operate an electric wheelchair with a device attached to his chin, but also to type.

John Curran's first book, Just My Luck was published in 1993. It told the harrowing but ultimately inspirational story of John's accident and struggle to come to terms with extreme disability. That year, he was honoured with the Kerry Person of the Year Award. He has a couple of scrapbooks filled with letters from a whole range of people telling what his book meant to them.

Tides of Change has taken John six years to write and is proof that the human spirit can triumph over bodily infirmity. John's courage, tenacity and sense of humour are an inspiration to all, young and old, able-bodied and disabled. He seems the type of person to be happy in any circumstances. He says Prior to my accident I was like many more people worrying about trivialities. But now I am looking at life through different eyes and I can see the world filled with many beautiful things I never knew existed.

It is impossible to write about John Curran without further mention of his wife, Margaret. As well as being his wife and carer, she is his best friend. He describes her as the light of his life. He also speaks highly of their four adult children, Carmel. Michael, Claire and Catherine.

Tides of Change costs €18.99 inc postage. Write to John Curran, Toor, Waterville, Co. Kerry. For further information, see www.curranpublishing.ie. Or phone 066 9474297 or 087 6997130.

Time in a Bottle

Denise Deegan

Tivoli

€9.99

Jennifer is unusually self-sufficient. As the single mother of four-year-old Charlie, she has needed to be. Since ending her engagement to Dave on learning of her pregnancy, she has been estranged from her parents. She lived with her grandmother who seems to have been as different from her daughter, Jennifer's politician mother as it is possible to be but the old lady is dead now. By night, Jennifer works as a freelance journalist to support Charlie and herself. It is as if she has closed a door on the past, refusing to allow disturbing memories to intrude on the present.

Then, Jennifer's world is turned upside-down when Charlie develops a life-threatening illness. She experiences fear, feelings of inadequacy and helplessness and a sense of isolation. She soon begins to realise that she may not be as self-sufficient as she has thought. It turns out that she can no longer bury the past but must confront it.

This is an absorbing story. Denise Deegan handles the subject of serious illness in children sensitively yet avoids the pitfall of over-sentimentality. There are humorous moments to lighten the emotional intensity. There is intrigue as well. Although Jennifer has little time for romance, quite suddenly, there seems to be two men with whom she has a possible future. Her ex-fiancé, Dave flies home from the US to support her and Charlie in their time of need. Then, there is Simon, Charlie's doctor and father of his beloved babysitter, Debbie. Which, if either, does she love? Which, if either, loves her? Of course there are the added complications of Dave being engaged to Fiona and her belief that Simon has not recovered from his wife Alison's death from cancer.

Time in a Bottle illustrates how serious illness makes one so much more aware of what truly matters in life. It also shows that things aren't always how they seem. Denise Deegan combines a worthwhile story with interesting and likeable characters.

Unweaving the Thread

Monica Tracey

€10.95

This unusual debut novel is absorbing if slightly downbeat. Monica Tracy's writing is so realistic that it is easy to forget that it is fiction even if the central character's life is rather more dramatic than most. The characters are distinctive and totally credible. These are largely products of the era and environment in which they live. Much of the story is set in Ulster in the middle of the 20^th century. There is plenty of humour to lighten the depiction of the harsh realities of life and these are not dwelled on.

Marianne Reed returns to her native home with her youngest child, having lived in England for many years. Her world has been shattered by the discovery that her husband has been having an affair with her best friend. She finds herself taking stock and reliving the past. There are ghosts to be laid to rest. The word, ghosts is used figuratively here although the supernatural does feature somewhat in these pages as something many people believe in in its various aspects.

Mary Ann Ward, as she was known then, was raised by an overly devout yet inspiringly generous mother and a loving though pig-headed father. The view of the Catholic Church portrayed is quite critical. Mary Ann is destined to experience tragedy more than once. There are more sinister experiences too, which do more permanent damage and contribute to the break-up of her marriage.

In due course, romance comes along in the form of Alan Reed. It makes no difference to Mary Ann that he's an English Protestant. If only everyone's attitude were so simple! The odds are against the young couple right from the beginning.

Monica Tracey has proven herself an accomplished novelist.

When the Bough Breaks

June Considine

€9.99

This is an impressive debut novel. June Considine captures the attention with her opening line, Her father was a magic musician. Mr Music Man, and holds it right up to the last page. A master storyteller, she weaves a complex and absorbing plot. She has a wonderful way with words. The following is an example of the lyricism of her writing. Fairies lived under the rocks where they spun the magic gorse blossom and covered the mountain in a coat of gold.

Little Beth Tyrell loves her father and his music. Yet her childhood is far from happy. Her mother clearly favours her younger sister, having a stick that she calls Charlie, which she uses to beat Beth. Beth's uncle, Tom Oliver is a successful businessman who, later, enters politics. The image he portrays is one of generosity, respectability and integrity. Beneath the surface, the reality is very different. He and Beth share an evil secret. Beth's life becomes bleaker still when her father leaves his wife and children.

In her mid-teens, Beth runs away, but not before breaking the loathed Charlie. She finds a home with her father, his warm-hearted mistress and her children. She is much happier in her new life. However, the shadows of the past prove inescapable.

Eva Frawley is the second central character in When the Bough Breaks. Secure in the love of her adoptive parents, although she has always known that she was abandoned as a new-born baby, it is only when tragedy strikes and her marriage is under serious threat that she is beset by a driving compulsion to delve into her origins. What dark secrets will be unearthed?

Apart from the leading characters, When the Bough Breaks has an interesting and colourful cast. This includes Beth's beautiful yet tragic sister, Sara who is a talented photographer, Jess O'Donovan, a somewhat unlikely candidate for a religious vocation, the handsome and enigmatic artist, Peter Wallace and the rebellious and troubled teenager, Lindsay McKeever.

The stage is set for a truly dramatic climax. Will Tom Oliver's crimes ultimately be revenged? Can Eva's marriage be salvaged against great odds? These and other crucial questions hang in the balance. When the Bough Breaks is an epic tale of love, hate, lost innocence, guilt, revenge and forgiveness.

Without Blood

Alessandro Baricco

Canongate

€12.99

This strange and powerful literary novella begins with a revenge attack in the aftermath of war. Four-year-old Nina's life is spared when her family are killed because one of the attackers takes pity on her. Many years later, when they are both old although he is sixteen years her senior, she tracks him down. That he now sells lottery tickets highlights in ironic fashion the arbitrary nature of life and death. Alessandro Baricco is a master of meaningful imagery. He also condenses much into few words. The major themes of war, revenge, forgiveness and redemption are explored in this thought-provoking tale.

The opening is distressing and sinister. Having just been introduced to Nina, it is particularly shocking to discover that, even though she herself has no idea of the atrocity about to take place, her very life and those of her father and her brother are at risk, her father having just spotted an old enemy approaching their home. It is somewhat difficult to follow when the reader knows so little of the background to the horrific scene unfolding. Some of this is gradually revealed but the details remain sketchy. The violence is graphic yet not drawn out

When Nina finally confronts the man who spared her life all those years earlier, who is also the last surviving member of the group who slaughtered her father and brother, you may be sure that she has some difficult questions to put to him. His responses are enlightening if less than inspiring. The notion of going through life bearing such a combination of bitterness and gratitude, both feelings so intense, for one person is a difficult one to conceive of. The encounter finally develops in the most unexpected of ways. The conclusion is a promise of redemption, somewhat shocking - certainly unconventional - yet oddly touching, for both these old people whose lives have converged in the strangest of ways.

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