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Prefaced by an unsettlingly frank account of artistic and personal breakdown after the success of his first novel, this glorious collection follows the triumphant publication last year of his second. It marks Power as one of the best, a writer to depend upon. I will read every word he writes.

Sunday Independent

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His book reviews are zingy and readable, with a knack for a killer opening ... tremendous fun.

Irish Times

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searingly honest ... the depth and breadth of Power's scholarship is immense, but it's the fluency and grace of his pen that keeps you reading, even when you disagree with him ... he is one of the country's brightest literary stars.

Anne Cunnigham,
Meath Chronicle

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In prose that glistens with style and intelligence, Power draws on the breadth of his reading and elegantly marshals his arguments … At his best, he proves as adept and illuminating guide through the world of literary criticism.

Brendan Daly, Irish Examiner

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Power is a writer's writer, and this collection of essays and reviews captures his sharp wit and incisive, fair critical eye like no other

Dubray Staff Choice (Luke – Dubray Grafton Street, Dublin)

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Hot Press Book of the Year

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 a remarkably perceptive literary critic and essayist ... The Written World is a testament to Power’s well-deserved status as one of Ireland’s most reliably engaging writers. Oh, and did I mention he’s often hilarious, too?

Luke Warde
Totally Dublin

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Every essay here is a pleasure to read ...  The light touch with which Power deploys his wide and deep reading is illustrated by his extensive quotation, from the Roman dramatist Terence to Hannibal Lecter. It is a masterclass in and of itself ...  his book is metropolitan and cosmopolitan in word and spirit, enlightening and amusing, and across its pages art is happening too.

Tom Hennigan,
Dublin Review of Books

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In this smart and funny collection of essays and reviews, Kevin Power doles out praise but isn’t afraid to put the boot in ... It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read either of his novels to hear that Power the critic embodies all these qualities — intelligence, good taste, humour and common sense — and that The Written World is criticism worth reading, for enjoyment above any other consideration.

Pat Carty,
Irish Independent

 

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[The Written World] contain[s] essays on criticism itself, authors and their work, society and crises. All are delivered in beautifully wrought sentences, along with a healthy dose of Power's own personal thoughts and experiences ... a joy to read ... His warmth, humour, humanity and intellectual rigour should ensure that this collection finds its place not just on the dusty bookshelves of Trinity College's English Department – but also in the hands of ordinary readers on the 46A bus.

Sunday Business Post

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Power’s logic, his thought-processes, are in general as sumptuously balanced as his sentences, which manage to accommodate some unsettled and unsettling issues without knocking a single word out of place. His piece on Literary Theory (vs. Liberal Humanism) is a masterclass of intellectual poise … [He is] a critic of high integrity. 
Harry Cochrane, The London Magazine

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He delivers punchy, witty and considered opinions on an array of subjects from Greta Thunberg to Norman Mailer. The opening essay on failure, a meditation (sharing personal experience) on how it is hardwired into a writer’s life, should be mandatory reading for anyone hoping to be published.
Martina Devlin, Irish Independent

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Irish Independent Best Book of 2022

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Reviewing books at the same time as [Kevin Power] is a very frustrating business because he’s so bloody good at it.
Pat Carty, Hot Press

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