Heart Sutra...has startling pleasures... similes are sharp, synaesthetic and anchored in the lives of the characters

Heart Sutra is a warm-hearted, if not gentle, satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith itself . . . A deeply satisfying read . . . Yan's storytelling has a luminous, irrepressible quality

Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart

Heart Sutra brings clarity to the dynamic and fraught relations between organised religion and the party on a broader scale and does not shy from difficult histories

[An] otherworldly novel

Beautiful, perceptive, wistful. I loved it

Ann Napolitano's writing is astonishing

As addictive as last year's The Paper Palace

This is a big-hearted, beautiful and wise family saga. Napolitano creates real, flawed characters - and makes you see the world anew. So wonderful as to be unmissable

Funny, heart-hammering, wise...superb entertainment

A terrific writer... She's changed my perception on life

A classic of contemporary Americana... variously funny and horrifying and finally, quietly, terribly moving

A book that should join those few that every literate person will have to read

A novelist who knows what a proper story is . . . [Tyler is] not only a good and artful writer, but a wise one as well

In her ninth novel she has arrived at a new level of power

Warm and optimistic, this story about adoption raises issues of belonging and identity

Tyler possesses a remarkable ability to render the ordinary extraordinary, which makes reading her work like tucking into tea and cake on a cosy Sunday afternoon

Full of excruciatingly comic set-pieces, this is an immensely satisfying, yet subtle, read

Tenderly observed and lifted by humour, Digging to America is a complex novel that asks if anyone can ever truly fit in. In answering that question Ms Tyler has woven her magic once again

As in her previous books, the writing here makes for wholesome, comforting fare, spiced as always with urbane wit and a knack for nailing the small truths behind fine details

In Digging to America, Tyler exhibits her knack for softening the sharp edges of human contact, showing people with smudges of vulnerability on their faces as they dig toward each other

Her prose is at once unpretentious and elegiac, like a photograph by Dorothea Lange, and her imagery has staying power

Deft and wise prose... [Tyler's] skill at turning everyday occurrences into amazing storytelling gets better and better

Redemptive

Black Cake is such an engaging novel. The structure works brilliantly with its dual narrative and short, sharp chapters. As I read, I felt like I could taste the sweet and spice of the black cake that links generations of the same family. Wilkerson's Black Cake is filled with secrets, family ties and hidden desires. It is an extremely satisfying read that stays with you long after the final page. As moreish as its title. If you want to be transported, read this book

A family drama meets murdery mystery

The perfect recipe for an epic family drama . . . Feuds, grief, and a murder make Charmaine Wilkerson's Black Cake unputdownable

One of the most feverishly anticipated debuts of the year

A delicious and gripping tale that sweeps the reader across decades and continents

I really savoured this rich, layered family saga ... Charmaine's writing is subtle and lyrical, pulling you into a powerful story of secrets, roots and identity. The flavour of it will linger long after you've finished

An extraordinary debut

A sweeping story, with Wilkerson masterfully bringing together all the different threads, making social history the backbone of everything

Completely blew me away ... I loved the brilliant writing, the characters and the clever and beautiful way the story melded together ... this is a stunning book

Delving into ideas around identity, familial bonds and lifelong secrets, Black Cake looks to be a wildly moreish page-turner

Touching on racism and acceptance, betrayal and loyalty, this emotional, heartfelt debut explores the meaning of home and the family that define it

A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson weaves social history into the backbone of the story, in a way that's nothing short of masterful

This emotional, heartfelt debut explores the meaning of home and the family that define it

A skilful debut about family secrets - and food

A wonderful immersive experience

A beautiful read - a real pageturner

A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson weaves social history into the backbone of the story, in a way that's nothing short of masterful.

A resonant story of identity, family and the meaning of home

A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson masterfully weaves social history into the backbone of the story

Prepare to be hooked

Impressive

A rich story around immigration and identity ... the novel beautifully captures the struggles of family and identity and the liberation that comes from those struggles

Engrossing . . . Wilkerson's brilliant descriptions are positively sumptuous for the mind's eye

An incredible family saga spanning 60 years, jumping across continents and time, forming a multi-layered book about secrets and inheritance

A delicious and gripping tale that sweeps the reader across decades and continents, turning everything the siblings think they know about themselves and their family on its head'

A funny, big-hearted read

I adored this confident, witty portrait of an unforgettable woman and her time

One of the smartest and funniest novels to appear this year

We guarantee you will love this charming debut

This smart, uproarious, emotional page-turner...has been the year's runaway hit. Rightly so

Irresistible, a gorgeous tribute to resilience and the many types of love that sustain us

Sharp and deliciously readable. Brings bite as well as charm to the tale of a super-rational scientist navigating sexism in early 60s America.

The idiosyncratic wit of this year's blockbuster debut is instantly appealing, but it's also a narrative with real bite. Uplifting and irresistibly zany

I fell for Elizabeth Zott immediately. A wonderfully entertaining and empowering read

A wonderful novel - polished, pacy, funny, witty, warm, life-affirming, and thought-provoking

Witty and sometimes hilarious. The CATCH-22 of early feminism

Enchanting, clever, funny and packed with deeply engaging characters. I still think about it a lot

As with all the best stories, there is a timelessness to this book. One senses it will be read in ten or twenty years' time

Biting and cheering in exactly the right measure

The TV cook bit hooked me right in and it did not disappoint. This book is Charming, witty and clever