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Book Reviews: 'That Charles Manson novel' and Granta's new Irish writing

US author Emma Cline is already a well-regarded short story writer
US author Emma Cline is already a well-regarded short story writer US author Emma Cline is already a well-regarded short story writer

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Girls by Emma Cline, published in hardback by Chatto & Windus

THIS much-anticipated debut novel of Emma Cline, already a well-regarded short story writer and fiction reader for the New Yorker, will probably get summarised a lot as 'that Charles Manson novel'. But while it does indeed fictionalise the Manson murders, it's really more about the agonies of adolescence.

Plot and structure are superficially simple. Evie Boyd (14) is the drifting daughter of a failed marriage. As mum brings home a series of inappropriate men friends, Evie is easily drawn into the outlaw community of teenage girls and hangers-on centred on the darkly charismatic Russell, a self-styled prophet with a desperate hankering for a recording deal.

And we all know how that will go...

Evie's account of this dark Californian summer is framed as the recollection of her older present self, who now observes the troubled dynamics of an adolescent girl who comes to stay, and the two dubious young men who accompany her.

In this way, we see that Evie's own teenage struggle was not just a freak cult occurrence but is more about the nuances of power and performance that play out between partially-formed people. Wonderfully readable, finely written and acutely observed.

Dan Brotzel

Granta: New Irish Writing, published by Granta Publications

WHAT a treat this collection is, featuring up-and-comers as well established Irish talent such as Colm Toibin, Roddy Doyle and Emma Donoghue – the author of Room, the 2010 novel adapted for the screen with Oscar-winning results.

Belfast writer Lucy Caldwell’s tale of 'forbidden love' between two girls is one of the standout stories, in which she writes of a “whole body liquid with shame” and of all love stories being “the moment that, that moment when, the moment we”.

Colin Barrett’s trademark rough lyrical magic is to the fore in his tale of Dev Hendrick, his canine nemesis Georgie and a visitor foisted upon him by the brilliantly named Gabe Ferdia.

The contributions from Co Down poet Leontia Flynn, Belinda McKeon, Kevin Barry and John Connell are yet more highlights in a sterling collection, while the photographs by Doug DuBois, Birte Kaufmann, Stephen Dock and Eamonn Doyle are uniformly stunning.

Brian Campbell

Black Water by Louise Doughty, published in hardback by Faber & Faber

THE setting for Louise Doughty's ruthless and ambitious novel is Indonesia where, between 1965 and 1966, half a million communists and sympathisers were murdered under parliamentary rule.

The novel opens with John Harper, waiting in a shack on a remote island, terrified that a gang has been hired to kill him, but the reader instantly senses paranoia on his side. The story shifts as John meets Rita on a trip into town and he begins to reflect on how he ended up in his current situation.

We are drip-fed John's story in fits and starts, which can be a little frustrating at times, but Doughty cleverly manages to provide the reader with many different lenses in which we can view John's past.

Black Water is a truly gripping read, centring on themes of morality, race and judgment. For readers who loved Apple Tree Yard, there is an equivalent sense of mounting tension and intrigue – however, this is a very different type of book.

Heather Doughty

Daisy In Chains by Sharon Bolton, published in hardback by Bantam Press

SERIAL killers and felons have a certain type of sex appeal – the many women who become infatuated with convicts and set up admirers' fan clubs are testament to that.

For her latest stand-alone book, Oxford-based crime novelist Sharon Bolton focuses on the story of Hamish Wolfe, a good-looking and charming surgeon who has been locked up for life, accused of abducting and killing three women.

He is convinced that blue-haired true crime writer and lawyer Maggie Rose could get him off the hook and potentially prove his innocence, if she is willing to take on his case, much to the disapproval of Detective Sergeant Pete Weston.

Each page – along with the letters and documents interlinking chapters – reveals more of Wolfe's past and the case's background, thus drawing the reader in.

Daisy In Chains is intriguing, complex, full of suspense and gripping until the very end, making this thriller a must-read for fans of the genre.

Shereen Low