Portraying the Pits of Trauma: “Peach” by Emma Glass Emma Glass’ debut novella-cum-prose poem clocks in at under one hundred pages, but offers a stunningly surrealist and disturbing impression of the trauma of sexual assault that will haunt you long after the last page has been turned.

●●●●● Emma Glass’ stunning debut Peach is a violently evocative account of the immediate aftermath of sexual assault. Peach is a teenage girl who negotiates the days following her attack as though in a hallucinatory dream. Glass’ visceral descriptions obscure … Continue reading Portraying the Pits of Trauma: “Peach” by Emma Glass Emma Glass’ debut novella-cum-prose poem clocks in at under one hundred pages, but offers a stunningly surrealist and disturbing impression of the trauma of sexual assault that will haunt you long after the last page has been turned.

We’re Reading Rupi Kaur’s “the sun and her flowers” Sarah Upton reviews the newest collection by everyone’s favourite Instapoet.

●●●○○ Rupi Kaur’s highly anticipated new collection, the sun and her flowers (2017), was published by Simon & Schuster at the beginning of the month. Kaur documents, in characteristically sparse free verse, journeys of wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming. … Continue reading We’re Reading Rupi Kaur’s “the sun and her flowers” Sarah Upton reviews the newest collection by everyone’s favourite Instapoet.

Roddy Doyle’s “Smile” “The memory. It’s like dropping bits of yourself as you go along, isn’t it?”

●●●○○ Roddy Doyle’s highly anticipated novel Smile hit bookshelves at the beginning of this month to mixed reviews. It tells the story of Victor Forde, a middle-aged, failed music journalist who moves back to his hometown following the breakdown of … Continue reading Roddy Doyle’s “Smile” “The memory. It’s like dropping bits of yourself as you go along, isn’t it?”

“​Tangleweed​ ​&​ ​Brine”​ ​​by​ ​Deirdre​ ​Sullivan Review Female Gothic takes center stage

It is rare that the aesthetic of a volume counts towards its overall merit, but in the case of Deirdre Sullivan’s book of feminist fairytales Tangleweed & Brine (2017), an exploration of its carefully organised pages and beautiful illustrations by … Continue reading “​Tangleweed​ ​&​ ​Brine”​ ​​by​ ​Deirdre​ ​Sullivan Review Female Gothic takes center stage