Poignant and funny... Deborah Moggach is brilliant at capturing just the right voice for her characters

Disturbing and witty...a deftly-described odyssey that places the battle of the sexes in a new arena

Moggach, for the purposes of this book, has turned herself into a bloke. His monologue throughout strikes me as totally authentic, but not only does Moggach get his lingo right, she thinks through his head, dramatizing his confusion, decency, wit, pain and determination. This is not just ventriloquism, but empathy so complete as to be phenomenal

Acutely funny and sad

A powerful novel, alive with the love, deceit, wisdom and the heroics of humanity

'Make sure you have a lot of time on your hands before you open Lesley Marshall's debut novel, A Girl Could Stand Up. You'll find it hard to tear yourself away'

'A page-turner that will disarm and charm. A stand-out talent'

'Utterly real...rendered with truthfulness and charm'

'Lively, slightly breathless comic narrative...this game is worth the candle'

'Fun, funny, fast-paced'

'Distinctive debut novel'