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Kevin John Brophy

Kevin John Brophy

The Conversation

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Despots, brutality and the quest for a home: The Hair of the Pigeon explores suffering and love

Master storyteller Mohammed Massoud Morsi’s touching new novel explores the fate of asylum seekers fleeing the Syrian civil war.

20.04.2026 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy

Friday essay: I was enthralled by Crime and Punishment at 14. Rereading it after 60 years, I’m still awed

Revisiting Fyodor Dostoevsky’s compelling, original and scandalous novel – after a 60-year hiatus – is a profoundly affecting experience.

04.12.2025 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy

Andrew Pippos’ The Transformations: a touching story of love, loss and newspapers

At the centre of this novel is a lonely man, the son of a Greek migrant cafe-owning family, who finds a home in a newsroom at a time of turbulence.

04.12.2025 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy

Ian McEwan’s new novel explores resentment and vengeance in a fractured world

08.10.2025 20

Pearls and Irritations

Kevin John Brophy

Ian McEwan’s new novel explores resentment and vengeance in a fractured world

A missing poem is at the centre of What We Can Know, a sprawling, surprising novel set in a time of climate catastrophe.

06.10.2025 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy

Could a river sue a corporation? Robert Macfarlane’s books change the world – now he’s advocating for the world’s waterways

The revered nature writer asks ambitious questions in his latest work, written at a tipping point for the world’s climate.

02.06.2025 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy

A serial killer blames his ‘monstrous’ mother – but misogyny is the real culprit

Mandy Beaumont’s new novel, The Thrill of It, takes us inside a killer’s mind.

13.03.2025 20

The Conversation

Kevin John Brophy