Home Rule, by Clare Boylan (Abacus, £6.99 in UK)

Another poor Irish childhood story in the Angela's Ashes mould - except that this one smashes the mould to joyful smithereens. Boylan brings the lives of three generations of Irish women before our eyes with a pulsating vividness, never for a second stooping to stereotype or stage Oirish effects; her characters are persuasively human, their adventures poignant and hair-raising, their spirit absolutely indomitable. And she handles the dreadful business of "history" with an effortless panache that makes you want to cheer.