Europa is a full and rounded and very disturbing novel…guaranteed to intrigue and, more often than not, have you squirming and wincing.

Sheer enjoyment... Doffing his hat to Joyce and Beckett, Parks really hits his stride

The best thing about Europa is the voice Tim Parks conjures up: Marlow's wry, defeated reason keeps you turning the pages... A forlorn but seductive voice, reminding us that it is far easier to unite a sprawling continent than the few cubic metres that contain a human soul

The triumph of the work is its discomforting portrayal of an agile mind hampered by the twin shackles of longing and disgust... Europa is that rare beast, a book which demands and withstands a second reading

[Pratchett] succeeds in working seamlessly with Baxter...adding a welcome shot of fun to the world of science fiction

Wonderfully rich fantasy, full of ingenuity, humour and some rather deep thoughts

Outstanding novel

Using the language of the scriptures, Markovits depicts religion’s potential for both beauty and cruelty, and the inevitability of transgression even in the most devout life

The writing is stunning, the execution flawless and the plot utterly gripping (4 stars)

An unusual, beautifully written novel

A bittersweet rumination on first love ... The language soars, full of the beauty of nature and the sadness of loss

Banville perfectly captures the spirit of adolescence, the body yearning for sexual experience, the mind blurring eroticism and emotion ... Banville is a Nabokovian artist, his prose so rich, poetic and packed with startling imagery that reading it is akin to gliding regally through a lake of praline: it's a slow, stately process, delicious and to be savoured ... This is a luminous breathtaking work

Ancient Light also bears resemblance to Lolita that extend beyond the obvious hallmark ecstatic prose..different periods of his life blending into a single meditation of breathtaking beauty and profundity on love and loss and death, the final page of which brought tears.

A beautifully written tale of youthful passion

A novel about sexual awakening and the tricks that memory plays. Banville's lushly gorgeous prose enhances a mood of brooding passion in a place of secrets

A sumptuous novel. Read it for the sentences and smarts, and for the copious sexy parts

Everything I want from a love story: sexy, convincing, baffling, funny, sad and unforgettable

Banville's exquisitely written novel unravels the deceptions of memory with wit and pathos