Gripping from the outset, as tightly structured as an intense theatrical experience, this is brilliant writing. Kotler - uncompromising and comprised - is a fascinating, provocative figure

A work of high moral seriousness dispatched with a gripping elegance . . . Bezmozgis's story of fallen saints and redeemed outcasts is, to put it plainly, the work of a great writer

Just when we think we've arrived at the heart of the story's moral complexity, Bezmozgis cuts again and lays bare yet another layer . . . one of the foremost writers of his generation

A compelling tale of reckoning. Bezmozgis is a smart, taut writer . . . His sentences make interesting turns; his dialogue bites; and he brings alive pre-revolutionary Crimea, with its glum post-Soviet citizens and purple Yalta onions for sale by the roadside

A moral thriller . . . Bezmozgis is a magician

Taut, fierce, forensically insightful . . . explores the frictions between goodness and kindness, public and private virtue, forgiveness and forgetting. Compulsive and profound

Brilliant, deft depictions of love, of memory, of compassion - and, ultimately, despite its title, of loyalty

A taut, slim book with a stately tone that makes it feel much larger . . . For [a] lively topical discussion of what it means to live a moral life, The Betrayers is just what the doctor ordered

An impressive novel . . . Bezmozgis explores the dynamics of mercy, guilt and repentence

A vivid novel . . . raising questions of integrity, compromise, identity and forgiveness

A brave and ambitious novel . . . The Betrayers suggests that Bezmozgis may potentially be one of the most important writers of his generation

Compelling. Bezmozgis's deft plotting, atmospheric scene-setting and limpid style remain assured. Each page is a gem

Ambitious. Bezmozgis is a fine writer

An impressive novel . . . In unadorned prose, Bezmozgis explores the dynamics of mercy, guilt and repentence

Absolutely gripping. Bezmozgis deftly explores themes of fidelity and morality

The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry ... dramatically changed the shape of Russian poetry. As you read on, the landscape becomes stranger and more unfamiliar, especially as you come to the late twentieth century. Almost 150 pages of post-war poetry, nearly thirty poets, most of them unfamiliar to many English­speaking readers. New names. A new poetic world. Our sense of Russian literature has changed dramatically in recent years

Sumell’s compulsively readable novel in stories introduces a restless underachiever as irresistible as he is detestable, surely one of the most morally, violently, socially complex personalities in recent literature…. Sumell’s debut is humbly macho, provoking outrage, pity, and finally tenderness. Perhaps this is a book readers will hate to love, but only because it feels, like Alby, all too real

There's a special alchemy here that you are going to want to witness...offhand and funny, and then the tender heart emerges from the shadows, so tender, and comes at us with a knife. Every story here is two: one the fun, the other the blade

Focusing on the single reality that human beings die, Sumell wakes up, and boy oh boy is he ever pissed off... Sumell, on Alby's behalf, fights back, and he fights dirty. Using cunning, reckless rage, and bravura comic timing, he kicks death's ass... Bystanders get hurt, the reader got hurt, but at least I was reminded that I was part of this whole shitty deal. You'd like to believe that there are consolations, and there are. Being sentient, for example. Being able to read, for instance. Having read Making Nice

The self-destructive narrator lashes out with reckless intimacy, random violence, and an often hilarious misplaced rage that shoots to wound rather than kill. What saves its victims and the reader is a naked rendering of a heart sorting through its broken pieces to survive. The result is an eloquent empathy, an uplift of hope-filled grace

Making Nice will grab you by the throat, raise your blood pressure, and cause you to chortle in a crowd. It will also break your heart. When they're writing the history of the best characters of our time, Alby will be there, telling the others to get in line

Making Nice is a little bit special. A truly original portrayal of grief

Making Nice has an anarchic humour and a goofy, ingenuous humanity that makes every page feel new… Some jokes…aren’t just funny, they are insightful, unexpected and hilarious. In its rampage to nowhere, Making Nice achieves the remarkable feat of making it feel better to travel hopelessly than to arrive.