- NEWS
Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
- WORLD
Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
- BUSINESS
Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
- SPORT
Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
- LIFESTYLE
What Lenny did nextLENNY Abrahamson has directed three feature films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
Clothes maketh you madTrying on clothes, said Ewart, produced "sensations which bring deep peace and perfect contentment" to the female mind.
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First Thoughts
The New Republic
Lionel Shriver
HarperCollins, £14.99
Review: Alex Sarll
Pushing 40 and a self-confessed “runner-up” in life, the protagonist of Lionel Shriver’s novel, the disillusioned corporate lawyer, Edgar Kellogg, makes the decision to chase after a job in journalism, leaving behind a promising but unfulfilling career.
The allure of the ego-boosting byline and his memory of his childhood peer Toby Falconer — one of life’s winners — leads Edgar on a path to replace an infamous journalist Barrington Saddler, who has gone missing in the fictional isthmus of Barba, Portugal. The Portuguese terrorist cell, SOB, had been making headlines until Barrington’s unexplained disappearance, and Edgar finds it difficult to fill Barrington’s boots. The New Republic explores notions of popularity and the nature of charisma, but is more a novel about the practice of hack journalism and arrogance than a satiric exploration of terrorism.
It’s a timely but by no means flawless novel from the Orange Prize-winning creator of We Need To Talk About Kevin.
The Long Earth
Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Doubleday, €25.10;
ebook, €25.31
Review: Natsayi Sithole
Before making his name with Discworld, the grand work of comic fantasy, Terry Pratchett wrote two science fiction novels.
The long-gestating idea for another now finally comes to fruition with the help of Stephen Baxter.
The Long Earth is a seemingly endless series of parallel earths to which, using a cheap homemade device, almost any human can easily ‘step’.
In the tradition of science fiction’s golden age, the ramifications of this one simple ‘what if?’ provide a wealth of material, as some seek to profit from the new frontier and others see an opportunity for escape.
Mainly, though, we follow Joshua Valiente, one of the first steppers, on an airship odyssey out into the endless earths, in part to find out whether any of them are home to indigenous intelligent life.
Satisfying in itself, the novel nonetheless leaves a compelling setting ready for sequels which may prove even more intriguing.
The Card
Graham Rawle
Atlantic, €22.45:
Kindle, €10.05
Review: Liz Ellis
Bubblegum card collector Riley Richardson has been assigned a coded mission by MI5 to protect the life of Princess Diana. Or so it seems.
The Queen of Hearts playing card, dropped in a deserted alleyway by a mysterious grey-haired man, is Riley’s starting point. More cards, and thus more clues, appear. But has Riley got what it takes to decipher the cards correctly?
And will he be able to solve the mystery of the illusive card 19, which has haunted him for 30 years? The answer, as they say, is in the cards.
The Card by Graham Rawle is engaging, thought-provoking, and at times laugh out loud funny. The use of typographical features to highlight parts of the text and Rawle’s illustrations of the cards is also visually striking. This story about ephemera is in no way shortlived.
Indelible Ink
Fiona McGregor
Atlantic Books, €17.50
Review: Victoria Burt
Australian novelist Fiona McGregor’s fourth book tells the story of 59-year-old Marie, a recently divorced mother of three, as she tries to start over in life.
Moving between the affluent Sydney suburbs and the city’s grittier underbelly, Marie rebels against the middleclass society that shaped her marital life.
In this reverse coming-of-age tale, Marie starts drinking heavily, has sex, makes new friends and becomes obsessed with tattoos.
But is she too old?
Following Marie, her carefree, reckless nature does prompt the reader to agree that age is nothing but a number.
Indelible Ink is an enjoyable read that will leave anyone who’s been to Australia reminiscing on their time there, and envying the seemingly stress-free attitudes.