Latest paperback releases reviewed
The Siege of Derry, Carlo Gébler, Abacus, £8.99
This narrative of the "last great siege in British history" is a thoroughly researched, balanced account, in that it tells the story from the points of view of those both inside and outside the city. Gébler is equally hard on both sides in the war for the suffering they inflicted on the civilian population. That suffering is described vividly, based on such sources as memoirs, diaries and allegedly "true" accounts. Although the events leading up to, during and after the siege are presented meticulously and in a fair-minded way, one would have liked to learn more about the main protagonists - they remain shadowy, elusive figures. Gébler marshals his skills as a writer and storyteller to great effect. He expresses the fervent hope that the two sides involved, Catholic and Protestant, can come to share their common history. And so say all of us. Brian Maye
The Colosseum, Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard, Profile, £8.99
The Colosseum in Rome is floodlit with golden light whenever a death sentence is commuted anywhere in the world or when any state suspends or abolishes its use. It seems like a good PR move for a monument strongly associated with violent killing in the past. In this part of the Wonders of the World series, Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard examine the myths linked to this amphitheatre, debunking many of them. Christians torn apart by lions? No genuine records of it happening in the Colosseum, they conclude. The arena in its early days flooded for a magnificent re-enactment of a sea battle? Unlikely. While agreeing it was the scene of much cruelty and killing, they suggest emperors (and their chroniclers) as well as later Roman Christians exaggerated events in the Colosseum for propaganda purposes. A good antidote to gushing guidebooks and Ridley Scott's larger-than-life Gladiator scenes. Fionnuala Mulcahy
The Icarus Girl, Helen Oyeyemi, Bloomsbury, £7.99
Not only is this Nigerian-born Helen Oyeyemi's first novel, but she was studying for her A-levels when she wrote it. The exams didn't go badly either: she's now in Cambridge. The astonishing story of its author notwithstanding, The Icarus Girl is immensely ambitious and disquieting. Jessamy is a mixed-
race eight year-old, advanced for her age in many ways, but socially stunted in others. She aims to fit in but finds herself prone to loneliness, hiding in hotpresses, screaming fits at school and annotating classic literature with her own improvements. Jessamy's struggle reflects the divides between black and white, acceptance and reaction, calm and storm. She does in the end succeed in making a friend during a visit to Nigeria, where she meets Titiola, a child whom she takes to be local. As the girls become inseparable, The Icarus Girl develops into an increasingly sinister and brilliant story. Nora Mahony
The 21st-Century Brain, Steven Rose, Vintage, £8.99
Neuroscientist Steven Rose is not a man for hype. For example when the first draft of the human genome was announced amid fanfare, Rose calmly pointed out that knowing the make-up of our genes was but a step on a longer journey. Now, in The 21st-Century Brain, he takes a rational look at the widely hyped field of brain science, setting the scene with a glance through brain evolution and development before dissecting the deeper questions of what it is to be human and have a mind. Against this backdrop, he looks at the potential capabilities of modern brain science, including drugs, to modulate the mind and enhance smartness, and the attendant raft of ethical concerns. Steeped in historical and philosophical references, this is a rich and well informed survey of neuroscience in context. Claire O'Connell
Your Cheatin' Heart, Annie McCartney, Time Warner Books, £6.99
In the summer of 1977, 21-year-old Maggie Lennon leaves Belfast to work in Florida. After a series of waitressing jobs, she finds herself employed by Zollie V Follie at the WAIA rock radio station. With her "funny accent" and supposed connection to at least one of the Beatles, Maggie quickly makes her mark and is introduced to the joys of recreational drugs and surfer sex. When Zollie and company decamp to the Q92 station in Tennessee, Maggie's career soars, introducing her to rock concerts, record conventions and awards ceremonies as well as some of the stranger aspects of American life such as gun-toting brides and ski resorts in sunny Alabama. In record time, she also finds herself engaged to the unbelievably wealthy Nate. This is a scintillating read, a hilarious tale of a plucky innocent abroad. It will make you laugh your socks off. Claire Looby
Otto, Lisa St Aubin de Terán, Virago, £7.99
Some things are not what they seem: this is not an autobiography of Venezuelan revolutionary Oswaldo Barreto Miliani, nor is Oswaldo, codenamed "Otto", the monster we have been led to believe. Whether this fictionalised account of his life and times is designed to set the record straight or merely to tell a good yarn about an epic personality is hard to tell, though it appears to do both. By his own admission, the protagonist has "been in more revolutions than it is really seemly to have taken part in". Terán writes as if Otto, a real-life friend, has commissioned her to help him write his autobiography. A great, ambling picaresque, it takes us from his sickly youth through his student years to his life as an activist in Algeria, Paris in 1968, Cuba, Iran and eventually back to Venezuela. A must for all adventurers, revolutionaries and fans of unusual novels. Nora Mahony