The Coin by Yasmin Zaher: Mad, brilliant novel about a Palestinian woman in New York
Obsessive cleaning and cynicism about designer brands are elements of this debut about a Palestinian woman
Bodies by Christine Anne Foley: a slippery, shape-shifting story about the indignities of modern dating
Bodies moves away from its realist literary opening into something approaching horror but ends up being a lot of fun
Test Kitchen by Neil Stewart: One chaotic and thrilling evening of service
This infuriatingly brilliant novel gets swallowed up in its scaffolding
Parade by Rachel Cusk: Daring and discombobulating
Stories, observations and conversations overlap in this mind-bending book
Godwin by Joseph O’Neill: Novel of narrative flair uses football in Africa as a prism
New York-based Corkman explores world of intersecting crises with humour and humanity
Rónán Hession: ‘I’m at the stage where I’ve lost loads of people... everyone is different, so every grief is different’
As his new book Ghost Mountain is about to hit the shelves, the senior civil servant, acclaimed musician and author isn’t dreaming of quitting his day job
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin: small town shenanigans
Everyone knows everyone else’s business in this engrossing debut novel
Openings by Lucy Caldwell: Enlightening and enriching collection of stories that closes a loose triptych
The Belfast writer explores the gap between how people behave and how they would like to behave
You Are Here by David Nicholls: A highly relatable love story of significance
This novel is vintage Nicholls and shows that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step
Headshot is a coming-of-age story, a portrait of girlhood seen through competitive contact sport
Bullwinkel has created eight memorably unique teenage girls whose aim is literally to be singular, which is to say, number one
Girl in the Making by Anna Fitzgerald: readers will feel for this sensitive, intuitive child
Debut novel absorbs from the opening chapter, following the story of Dublin girl Jean
Barcelona by Mary Costello: rich food for thought
Mary Costello’s new collection shows her innate understanding of loss as the foundation of the short story
Clear by Carys Davis: A story of hope amid the barbarity of mass evictions on a fictional Scottish island
To say too much about the plot would risk the immense reading pleasure to be found within the carefully constructed story
The Lodgers by Holly Pester: A smart, superbly crafted story on the state of a nation
The Lodgers marks Pester out as a writer to watch and should feature on many awards shortlists this year
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon: one of the most original debuts of the year
Madcap enthusiasm of author’s writing will win over many readers