ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
THERE are echoes, maybe unintended, of both Orhan Pamuk and Ilya Ehrenburg in Roma Tearne’s seventh novel.
They are evident not only in the confinements of the characters and the suppressions of the language used, reflecting the impact of an inclement meteorology upon the mobility and actions of her protagonists, but also in the metaphorical implications of the deadening nature of societies in microcosm, hunkering down and in retreat.
FIONA O’CONNOR questions the achievement of this year’s Orwell prize winner for political fiction
CHRIS MOSS joins the hunt in Argentina for the works of Poland’s most enigmatic exile
STEPHEN ARNELL looks back to when protesters took to the streets in London demand to Irish liberty, fair pay and free speech — and wonders what’s changed in 138 years


