Sea Lovers

“Complex and wonderful…. This book is a long, cool drink of water.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Valerie Martin is a consummate stylist. A cool, spare writer who can make the fantastic utterly, often horribly believable.” —The Boston Globe

“Revelatory. . . . Distinguished by an alluring precision. . . . Exact and provocative.” —Jane Smiley, The Guardian (London)

“Elegantly ruthless. . . . Valerie Martin dissects the inner lives of men and women (not to mention one chilling mermaid).” —More

“Captivating. . . . Martin’s writing is a reward in itself, a wonderful precision-tool. She uses it to chisel at the human condition—and the effect is astonishing.” —Financial Times

“Exceptional. . . . This immaculate collection spans Martin’s career from the tight and serious ambition of her youth, through a wittier, more playful phase investigating creativity through stories about music and painting as well as writing.” —Daily Mail

“Enthralling. . . .  The prose is grounded in precision and certainty, it’s a steady navigation system, and cantilevers the most remarkable flights of fancy with what we recognize as all-too-human behavior.” —Chronogram  

“Varied, engaging, and often shocking. . . . An insightful look into the evolution of Martin’s writing and her talent for depicting our darker natures.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“This collection is rife with the unspoken cracks between people, and leaves a haunting, lingering impression.” —Publishers Weekly