Daring tales of rural desperation

Malarky

By Anakana SchofieldOneworld, €15.10

A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing

By Eimear McBrideGalley Beggar Press, €13.85

Reviewed by

Joanne Hayden

Debut novelists Anakana Schofield and Eimear McBride may be telling totally different stories of Ireland, but they write with similar linguistic dexterity and subversiveness. Each of their narratives is driven by voice and intent on capturing the troubled emotional landscape of its central character.

In Malarky, set in Co Mayo, lead character ...