PAPERBACKS OF THE WEEK

Black Earth

Timothy Snyder

Vintage€22.50

This disturbing but utterly compelling book examines the Holocaust and ends with a chilling warning that it could conceivably happen again. We think of Hitler’s obsessive hatred of the Jews as a kind of madness, but Snyder says that Nazi race theories were rooted in murderous logic. The hows and whys of what happened have never been better explained.

Girl At War

SaraNovic

Abacus€20.99

This powerful, superbly written debut novel draws on the author’s personal experiences of growing up in the former Yugoslavia as the country was degenerating into brutal civil war. Ten-year-old Ana lives a happy, carefree life in the Croatian capital Zagreb, but her world is ripped apart by senseless violence that continues to haunt her after she flees to America.

The Sunshine Cruise Company

JohnNiven Windmill €11.99

Susan Frobisher leads a life of blameless middle-class respectability. But when her husband dies suddenly she discovers that he was not only a secret sexual pervert but also a fraudster. She also learns she is flat broke. In desperation, she joins forces with her best friend Julie and they go off the rails in spectacular fashion in this hugely enjoyable comic crime romp.