Unabashed and morally generous, the Booker winner writes like a sharp, funny, fallen angelIn addition to producing eight novels over the past 30 years, Anne Enright has always written nonfiction around the edges. This has mostly taken the form of essays for the literary pages of the NYRB, the LRB and, indeed, the Guardian. Attention is a collection of 24 of the best, each with a new brief introduction by Enright herself. The work is culled mostly from the past 10 years, with the latest dated “Autumn 2025”, which suggests that she was still blowing on the ink as it went to press.A decade ago most of these pieces would probably have been called “personal essays”, but that now seems redundant. Everything is personal with Enright, which is what makes you want to read her even on subjects that don’t initially appeal. The cocaine trade in Honduras, say, or the production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days in a sodden field in the Aran Islands. And just when you worry that things might, actually, be getting a bit too fine-grained, such as the revelation that on holiday her husband likes to study menus carefully before choosing a restaurant, while she is more likely to dive in and scream for chips, Enright lobs in a line that explodes her text. Leaving her beloved Venice after a holiday with said husband, she is struck by the thought that the next time she visits, “I do not know if the disaster will have happened or not, because one day it will happen. One of us will the other will remain.” And just like that we are taken to the deepest, darkest mystery not just of Enright’s marriage, but of the kind of relationship that we might long for ourselves. Continue reading...
Saturday 1 November 2025
theguardian - 21 hours ago
Attention by Anne Enright review – sparkling reflections on life and literature
Latest News
Ukraine war briefing: Russian attacks on substations are ‘nuclear terrorism’, says Ukraine
- theguardian Trump news at a glance: Friday rulings hamper administration on food stamps, voting access
- theguardian This Time Last Year, I Hadn t Even Made An Appearance : Meath s Sean Rafferty On His Remarkable Rise
- balls Dessie Ward s Breakthrough Performances Earned Him Deserved All-Star Nomination After Injury Hell
- balls Arsenal oppose Crystal Palace’s ‘unfair’ request to play Carabao Cup tie on 23 December
- theguardian Here’s a map of fires across Dublin tonight as crews respond to dozens of Halloween blazes
- thejournal A luxury cruise ship stopped at a remote Australian island. Suzanne Rees was left behind and died alone
- theguardian Calls to change ‘Prince Andrew’ place names across the North intensify after stripping of title
- thejournal Mary Earps extract: ‘I felt sick and anxious. Then came the words I’d waited 12 months to hear’
- theguardian Irish Wheelchair Association says people with disabilities €1,400 worse off after Budget 2026
- thejournal The Beatles: actors playing the spouses of the Fab Four in Sam Mendes’ films confirmed
- theguardian The Guardian view on the atrocities in El Fasher: the responsibility for these horrors extends beyond Sudan’s borders | Editorial
- theguardian The Guardian view on Andrew’s downfall: Britain’s relationship with the royals needs a reset | Editorial
- theguardian A stunning fall from grace : Court hears complex deception by DJ Carey continued for years
- thejournal ‘How do you rebuild all this?’ Black River residents assess damage after Hurricane Melissa
- theguardian JP Morgan warned US of $1bn in Epstein transactions possibly related to human trafficking
- theguardian Democrats should be taking the fight to Trump – the problem is, he’s got them battling each other | Jonathan Freedland
- theguardian Man appeals rape conviction against teenage relative, claiming bad temper evidence was unfair
- thejournal Kildare town pays tribute as man who died in hospital after assault on Sunday named locally
- thejournal Tucker Carlson’s interview with far-right antisemite Nick Fuentes divides conservatives
- theguardian Madrid regional government co-funding Woody Allen’s new film – but it must feature ‘Madrid’ in the title
- theguardian MEP Lynn Boylan calls for EU to retaliate after she is banned from Israel for five years
- thejournal Stephen King’s son among writers boycotting British Library event in solidarity with striking workers
- theguardian Claire Byrne passes the baton to David McCullagh as she signs off on her last ever RTÉ show
- thejournal What happens to Sarah Ferguson now that she and Andrew are moving out of Windsor residence?
- thejournal The best toys and gifts for one-year-olds: 25 fun, skill-building ideas, chosen by toddlers (and parents)
- theguardian How young people can use their online gaming skills to fight cybercrime – and what parents can do to help them
- theguardian ‘You can be an ethical hacker, not a criminal one’: the initiative guiding young gamers into cybersecurity
- theguardian ‘Every hacker I’ve met is a gamer’: why the next generation of tech talent could be found in unlikely places
- theguardian I was led down the wrong path into cybercrime as a teenager. Here’s what I would tell my younger self
- theguardian Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger’s Drift review – TV detective adaptation is occasionally lethal
- theguardian Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers: ‘We don’t want to be the biggest band in the world. It’s just fun playing with our besties’
- theguardian Emergency accommodation figures reach new record high of over 16,600, including 5,238 children
- thejournal Australian governments ‘turning their backs’ on soaring Indigenous incarceration, former minister says
- theguardian ‘I’ve learned to separate myself from this job’: The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra on fan abuse, Henry Cavill and saying goodbye to the show
- theguardian ‘The money machine is misfiring’: City blames Brexit for UK’s £20bn productivity headache
- theguardian ‘This doesn’t feel like justice’: mother of Jaysley Beck accuses army of empty promises
- theguardian
Jimmy Carr’s Am I the A**hole? review – the idea for this comedy panel show is one of TV’s laziest
- theguardian‘Dangerously outdated’: high court overturns ruling implying domestic violence would not affect children
- theguardian‘A good moment in time for us’: Firefox head on AI browsers and what’s next for the web
- theguardianBallymun attack leaves man in serious condition as Gardaí urge public not to share video
- thejournalWhy young women are having facelifts: ‘I couldn’t even open my eyes. That’s how swollen I was’
- theguardianRukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for beetroot, apple and feta fritters | Quick and easy
- theguardian‘DeepSeek is humane. Doctors are more like machines’: my mother’s worrying reliance on AI for health advice
- theguardian
Horror movies have an ableism problem. Isn’t it time we found new ‘monsters’? | Kathryn Bromwich
- theguardian Ukraine reports fresh Russian attacks amid reports Moscow used ‘secret’ missile in recent months – Europe live
- theguardian The nature extinction crisis is mirrored by one in our own bodies. Both have huge implications for health
- theguardian Alpha Maid: Is This a Queue review – Mica Levi collaborator pairs scuffed production with superb songwriting
- theguardian Snocaps: Snocaps review – Katie and Allison Crutchfield reunite with a little help from MJ Lenderman
- theguardian UK housing market ‘resilient’ in O Asian stocks mixed after bumper tech earnings – business live
- theguardian Having a ball-player is important but England also need a bit of beef, and that’s Freeman | Ugo Monye
- theguardian Standing on their own: Cricket World Cup highlights drive to reclaim public space for Indian women | Emma John
- theguardian Lily Allen’s new album shows the pain behind the ‘cool girl’ myth – that’s why women are obsessed with it | Gaby Hinsliff
- theguardian ‘I’ve played a lot of sneery bastards’: Roger Allam on bad singing, big paydays and Elgar’s level of ‘gitacity’
- theguardian The Royal formerly known as Prince : UK newspapers react to the removal of Andrew s title
- thejournal ‘You don’t have to hurtle down slopes or dance like crazy at après parties’: readers’ favourite winter mountain holidays in Europe
- theguardian What would you do if democracy was being dismantled before your eyes? Whatever you’re doing right now | Andy Beckett
- theguardian ‘We stick two fingers up at Henry VIII’: can the riotous all-Japanese Six out-Tudor-queen the original?
- theguardian Head of UK government’s anti-Islamophobia partner ‘refused service in shop for being Muslim’
- theguardian ‘The nuns were convinced they were possessed by demons’: goth and metal stars select the scariest music ever made
- theguardian Ukraine war briefing: British ex-soldier arrested in Kyiv and accused of spying for Russia
- theguardian Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream review – alt-rock survivor surveys her kingdom with swagger
- theguardian Paint me cool: scientists reveal roof coating that can reduce surface temperatures up to 6C on hot days
- theguardian Family should be allowed home to Kerry after being moved 140km away, community leaders say
- thejournal Sources