Spit
By David Brennan
Epoque Press, £10.99
“I once inhabited the body of a dead dog for two weeks.” Few openings grab you like that of David Brennan’s scintillating second novel, a lyrical lament soaked in folklore, fury and fierce longing. Narrated in part by a roguishly wise púca, it bears witness to a village steeped in grief and secrecy. Danny Mulcahy, its haunted not-quite-hero, drifts through this fever-dream world as a mysterious death unsettles the town, while Rosie, radiant and unknowable, performs rituals with jam jars and flowers.
Brennan conjures a rural Ireland exploring the struggle for escape and redemption in places where people are bound. Crackling with dark humour and incantatory force, every line pulses with linguistic relish. Grotesque, glorious and gorgeously written, Spit feels ancient, magical and urgently new. Adam Wyeth
[ From the archive: How To Write A Song by David BrennanOpens in new window ]
In The Rhododendrons
By Heather Christle
Corsair, £20
In the Rhododendrons opens with the myth of Persephone. An appropriate beginning for this memoir, in which the author (of bestselling The Crying Book), follows the path of her mother’s childhood through Richmond and Kew Gardens with Virginia Woolf “as her guide”. It was in England, also, that Christie was sexually assaulted as a teenager, an event that paralleled both her mother’s and Woolf’s experiences.
American born and bred, the author’s outsider’s eye looking in upon English culture proves interesting. The intrigue unfortunately largely stops here. Christle observes rather than inhabits her story, which means that while the reader is treated to frequent utterings of poets, scientists and other great thinkers, we remain distant from the subject who is at the heart of this memoir. Brigid O’Dea
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Your Life is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do Better
By Tim Minshall
Faber, £20
Cambridge professor Tim Minshall’s book sprang from a talk he gave to a group of schoolchildren. He plays the role of teacher throughout Your Life is Manufactured, educating his reader on the innards of the semi-invisible world of manufacturing. Intensely readable, the book is a conversation starter, shedding light on the fragile and far-reaching processes behind our one-click shopping habits.
Minshall encourages a greater sense of appreciation for the everyday objects we take for granted, optimistically suggesting that shopping local and investing in regenerative manufacturing is the future of sustainable consumerism. The book is unapologetically nerdy, though more technical details are smoothed over by humour and human insight. There’s an accompanying website, as well as an epilogue detailing how the hardback itself is manufactured. Emily Formstone
