Author:Italo Calvino
A group of travellers chance to meet, first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their stories. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives, and a fantastic, surreal and chaotic history of all human consciousness.
A work that celebrates storytelling… Magical.
—— Fiona Wilson , The TimesThe interlinking of tales is incredibly complex and subtle: a history of all human consciousness through the myths of Oedipus, Parsifal, Faust, Hamlet and so on. The Castle of Crossed destinies is a shamelessly original work of art-beautiful in the sense that it is the careful statement of an artist we have learned to trust
—— New YorkerItalo Calvino has advanced far beyond his American and English contemporaries. As they continue to look for the place where the spiders make their nests, Calvino has not only found this special place but learned how himself to make fantastic webs of prose to which all things adhere
—— Gore VidalThe marriage of the verbal and the visual in The Castle of Crossed Destinies seems almost prodigious. It is as if sulpher and mercury had at last fused into gold
—— Times Literary SupplementSabbath explodes some mad genie out of his bottle... Sabbath's Theater has more firestorming prose than any other novel I have read this year
—— ObserverA work of near-heroic vitality and cunning
—— Sunday TelegraphAbsolutely filthy book with one of the most unpleasantly priapic and desperate anti-heroes in modern literature. A delight
—— Nigel Lindsay , Daily ExpressThis is the first of Roth’s late masterworks, and the most powerful
—— Orlando Figes , The Week[American Pastoral] is gorgeously written with passages of breathtaking beauty filled with wisdom and pathos
—— Sarfraz Manzoor , WeekA simple beautiful ending to a deeply sombre book
—— Scotland on SundayThere is enough plot for several novels here (enough sex for dozens), all vividly conveyed in the author's excitable style... Her many fans will not be disappointed
—— Literary ReviewHarris does it again with this brilliantly told tale.
—— THE SUNVoluptuous helpings of magic, mystery, love and, of course, mouthwatering discriptions of her favourite chocolates, combine to make a rich, satisfying story that should keep you riveted to your sun lounger page after page
—— SHE magazineThe Lollipop Shoes is a sensory fantasy, Harris writes with an original and satisfying poetic flair.
—— DAILY TELEGRAPH...the magic still enchants
—— MAIL ON SUNDAY...a sumptuous treat.
—— HEAT Magazine, May 2007...a sensory fantasy, Harris writes with an original and satisfying poetic flair. Harris is a delicious treat.
—— DAILY TELEGRAPHThis novel has the richness of the best quality dark chocolate.
—— INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYSparkling black comedy
—— PlayPearson is a hilarious author who captures the guilt and the exhaustion of the working mother's life perfectly
—— Dublin DailyIt's the incisive details and Pearson's vivid writing that propel the story
—— New York Times BooksSmart book...great fun
—— New York TimesPearson is insightful, witty and full of fun
—— Daily TelegraphWonderfully warm, witty and intelligent
—— Sunday independentA Bible for the working woman
—— Oprah WinfreyHer social observation is unerringly accurate...so beautifully written that it brought tears to my eyes, as well as a wry smile
—— Daily TelegraphPearson...to write a novel...that has already sold a gazillion copies and is going to become a film. Hats off to you, madam!
—— Ok MagazineShe will...make you laugh
—— Culture, Sunday TimesPearson...has made it all fresh again
—— TimeEntertaining, compulsively readable, and brilliantly written
—— Daily CandyHilarious and...poignant
—— Publisher's WeeklyThis terrific novel is alternately hilarious and sad
—— UpfrontIt may change your life
—— The ObserverPearson is a very witty and moving writer. Her prose is spare and skilful...waspish truisms and spot-on social observations
—— Daily ExpressIntelligent, witty and of-the-moment, it mixes sassy, brittle perceptions with barefaced sentimentality
—— The Herald, GlasgowBrilliantly captures and defines the mood of the moment...sparkling wit and razor sharp insights
—— XW MagazineSharply observed and frequently funny
—— Evening Standard