It’s World Book Day today – so we’re looking at all of the Irish books we’re dying to read – or have already read! – this year.
So here is what you need to be adding to your bookshelf in 2024.
The Women Behind the Door – Roddy Doyle
Paula Spencer is back!
This time the iconic literary character is in her 60s and she must help her daugher, Nicola, who has shown up on Paula’s Dublin doorstep wanting to leave her husband and three daughters.
Nicola also makes a potent revelation that will leave Paula shaken.
Out September
Reality Check – Vicki Notaro
Lovers of reality television will absolutely devour this book from the former editor of STELLAR Magazine.
It follows Portia Daniels, the daughter of one of America’s biggest reality stars and an iconic director, as she traverses life after her partner makes a shocking announcement.
However, it’s not just Portia whose life is in tatters her two younger sisters Vinnie and Ariel have plenty on their plates.
Out May
Long Island – Colm Tóibín
This is the long-awaited sequel to Brooklyn. This time we meet Eilis and Tony who are living in a neighbourhood in Long Island.
Eilis still longs for home as she has not returned to Ireland in years. However, when a man arrives on her doorstep telling her that Tony has gotten his wife pregnant Eilis’ life is turned upside down.
How will Eilis respond?
Out May
Breakdown – Cathy Sweeney
One morning, an Irish mother walks out the front door to begin a journey that ultimately leads to profound transfiguration.
She travels to Wales and over the course of her journey she reminisces on her life and the fantasies that she still holds onto.
Finally, 48 hours later, alone and isolated in a cottage in Wales, in a strange and eerie landscape, the woman reaches her nadir.
Out January
The Amendments – Niamh Mulvey
Delving into the lives of three generations of women, we see how Ireland has changed over the course of one family.
We follow Nell, as she prepares to welcome her first child with her partner, Adrienne. As Nell examines her past and her complicated feelings with motherhood, we also get a glimpse at her mother, Dolores’ past.
While Nell and Dolores feel like they’re miles apart, their stories are more similar than they expected.
Out April
My Favourite Mistake – Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes is back and as brilliant as ever.
Anna has the perfect life in New York, so it comes as a surprise when she packs it all up and returns to Ireland.
However, it doesn’t take long before she realises that she can leave New York but she can’t leave her mistakes behind her. They tend to follow…
Out May
This Is How You Remember It – Catherine Prasifka
Marked as a cautionary tale, This Is How You Remember It deals with the reality of growing up online.
Being on the internet at the tender age of nine means that practically our main character’s whole life is documented in some way, shape or form online.
It’s a cautionary tale, a call to arms and a tender love story.
Out May
In Her Place – Edel Coffey
Ann falls for Justin, whose wife is terminally ill and in a coma.
The pair strike up a romance and choose to move in together. However, things take a turn when Justin’s wife Deborah miraculously starts to get better.
But Ann is getting used to her life and she won’t go out without a fight.
Out March
Hey, Zoey – Sarah Crossan
Dolores O’Shea’s marriage collapses when she discovers her husband’s AI sex doll in the garage.
When she moves “Zoey” into the house, they become oddly bonded, opening the door to a lifetime of repressed feelings and memories.
Yes, as weird and wild as this sounds, you won’t be able to put it down!
Out May
Exile – Aimée Walsh
Fiadh’s life is turned completely upside down on a night out in Belfast.
Pretty soon everyone has heard about what happened; it is impossible to keep the rumours from spreading, the gossip from spiralling out of control.
As her life seems to slip out of her control, things quickly descends into chaos, a chaos that nearly costs her everything.
Out May
Bodies – Christine Anne Foley
From the older boy who takes her for a snog while his pregnant girlfriend waits in the bar, to the controlling boyfriend and the married man, this is a novel driven by rage and grief, yet it is tender and true and relatable. Playing with our ideas of victim and perpetrator,
Foley invites us all to think about the way a woman operates in a society where her body feels owned by others as much as it is by herself.
It’s a propulsive story about sex, death, and the reality of growing up and making choices about who and how you love.
Out June
Hitched – JF Murray
It’s The Hangover meets Bridesmaids!
When Kate reunites with her DJ ex Trevor in Las Vegas, the couple wake up married, throwing a spanner in Kate’s plans.
She is desperate to end the marriage and get her life back on it’s perfect track, but she can’t always deny her feelings for Trevor.
Out February
Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy – Rachael English
Stacey Nash, the host of the popular podcast ‘Whatever Happened To…?’, becomes fascinated with 80s Irish band, The Diamonds, that broke up before she was born.
How could four young women with so much promise just disappear?
As problems mount in her own life, Stacey is drawn deeper into unravelling the mystery. But, after forty years, and with the band’s members reluctant to cooperate, is it too late for the truth to emerge?
Out February