Category: Reviews

With Pope Francis visiting the U.S., it's hardly surprising that he's come in for some unusual scrutiny. At polling aggregation website fivethirtyeight.com, for instance, space is given to a fascinating discussion on how it might be possible to measure the impact of Francis' papacy so far and what its legacy might be.  A rise in…

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Spare a thought for the recently deceased director Wes Craven. Almost single-handedly he pioneered the comedy/horror mini-genre. M. Night Shyamalan lends his talents to the hybrid in The Visit, a chilling tale of two children who go to on a trip to their psychologically-unhinged grandparents on a remote American farm.  I would have been out of…

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One Wide Expanse by Michael Longley  (UCD Press, €20 / £17)  These writings from the Ireland Chair of Poetry, which Ulster poet Michael Longley held between 2007 and 2010, consists of three essays. They are derived from the annual lectures which he was required to give, aside from his teaching, and deal with different aspects…

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The Books Editor How often do you over hear someone, in a book shop or over a stall at a parish fete, as often as not women, for women are greater readers than men, saying: “Oh, I have read that… I think”.  Back the book goes on the shelf or the jumble sale stall.  With…

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