“An urgent, spare novel of romantic obsession. . . . De Bernières [is] adept at juxtaposing brutality with episodes of high comedy or romance.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A work whose artistic integrity should be applauded. . . . A wise and moving novel, perfectly accomplished. It shows that no life is ordinary. It shines fresh light on the nature of love.”
—The Guardian (London)
“An aching tale of love and loss in which the protagonists embody the profound but fragile relationships strangers can build and the pain of intimacy corrupted.”
—Time
“A triumph—a finely-executed little masterpiece.”
—The Mirror (UK)
“A silk stocking of a novel: fragile, light—and yet possessed of surprising tensile strength. De Bernières’s mellifluent, clear prose slips through the reader’s mind with efficient ease, and even at its most dramatically jarring, you never need to come up for air. . . . Gripping.”
—The Times (London)
“De Bernières has reached heights that few modern novelists ever attempt.”
—The Washington Post
“A magnificent storyteller. . . . De Bernières masterfully explores the terrible price of love, politics and war.”
—The Miami Herald
“Irresistible. . . . [A] remarkable literary voice: erudite, compelling, witty.”
—USA Today
“De Bernières is so inventive—celebratory but never sentimental.”
—Newsweek
“Louis de Bernières [may be] the next Leo Tolstoy.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“De Bernières has a gift for irony, a sure hand for fast-moving plots . . . a talent for bringing the written word to life, and a delicious sense of the absurd.”
—The Washington Times
“Who can resist an author with de Bernières’s command?”
—The Atlantic
“De Bernières can move seamlessly from humor to poignancy and from easy charm to a searing anger.”
—Financial Times
“Amazing powers of invention. He peoples his world with a dazzling variety of humanity at every level of society and with every shade of morals. It was writers like him who invented the novel, and it’s writers like him who keep it alive and well.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“De Bernières is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh.”
—The Evening Standard (London)
“If you like your novels hearty and sustaining, Louis de Bernières is the writer for you. He writes with gusto and reveals a fine comic sensibility which is captivating.”
—The Times (London)
“De Bernières’s work encompasses cruelty, humor, love and friendship, hope and horror.”
—Literary Review (London)
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