Harris's best so far, rapid and compelling in narrative, copious in detail, thoroughly researched but also, which is more important, thoroughly imagined... Irresistible

In Harris's hands, the great game becomes a beautiful one

Genres ancient and modern have rarely been so skilfully synthesised... Gripping and accomplished

A joy to read in every way, and as a mirror to the politics of our present age has no equal

Harris deploys the devices of the thriller writer to trace the perils and triumphs of Cicero's ascent ... A finely accomplished recreation of the power struggles of more than two millenniums ago

Fascinating … Imperium masterfully dramatises issues not only pertinent to a vanished world but to our own

Harris [is] a truly gifted, razor-sharp writer... Enormously
entertaining

Examining race, privilege and the pressures of perfectionism, it will resonate with fans of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere

A clever premise, well executed in lean, lucid prose - The Handmaid's Tale for the Squid Game generation

A riveting, thought-provoking read

The School for Good Mothers imagines a world terrifyingly close to our own - a world in which the slightest parenting misstep, the tiniest error of judgement, is enough for the authorities to remove your child and send you for 're-education'. One for fans of The Handmaid's Tale and any exhausted parent who has fantasised - if only for a moment - about getting in the car and driving far, far away from it all

Impossible to stop reading -- Chan captures the terrifying helplessness of a mother making bad choices and losing control in a fascinating dystopia of state surveillance. This brilliant rendering of a flawed and complicated heroine highlights many compelling issues of race and expectations of motherhood, with masterful storytelling of love and heartbreak and terror and suspense

A timely and remarkable debut

Incredibly clever, funny and pertinent to the world we're living in at the moment

This taut, explosive novel is all the more terrifying because it edges so close to reality. Frida's predicament embodies the fraught question so many women are taught to ask: Am I good enough?

This book is like nothing I've read before. Haunting and unforgettable, and I'm in awe of Jessamine Chan's mind.

Heartbreaking and daring, propulsive and wise. I read it with my heart in my throat and I held my kids tight.

Jessamine Chan captures, in heartbreaking tones, the exacting price women pay in a patriarchal society that despises them, that reduces their worth to their viability for procreation and capacity for mothering. The School for Good Mothers is not so much a warning for some possible dystopian nightmare as much as it is an alarm announcing that the nightmare is here. The book is, thus, a weeping testimony, a haunting song, and a piercing rebuke of both the misogynist social order and the traps it lays for women, girls, and femmes. Good Mothers deserves an honored place next to the works of Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler.

Gutting and terrifying. Vivid and exquisite. In The School for Good Mothers, you'll find not only your favourite novel of the year, but also a new cultural touchstone, a reference point for the everyday horrors all parents experience and take for granted. This book is sharp, shocking, anxiety-provoking, superb. It is exactly what you want, and need, to read

(An) intense, unputdownable debut that will doubtless spark conversation about what makes a good or bad mother

Picks up the mantel of writers like Margaret Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro . . . but it also stands on its own as a remarkable, propulsive novel. At a moment when state control over women's bodies (and autonomy) seems ever more chilling, the book feels horrifyingly unbelievable and eerily prescient all at once

[An] enthralling speculative debut . . . A powerful story, made more so by its empathetic and complicated heroine

Enthralling....a powerful story, made more so by its empathetic and complicated heroine

A gripping, witty and ultimately redemptive vision of dystopian motherhood

This scarily prescient novel that's reminiscent of Orwell and Vonnegut explores the depths of parents' love, how strictly we judge mothers and each other and the terrifying potential of government overreach

(An) infuriatingly timely debut novel... that may read more like a preview than a dystopia, depending on your faith in the future of Roe v. Wade

No book has ever made me cry this much. The School for Good Mothers is an absolute masterpiece

A powerful story

Chan's high-concept novel may toy with dystopia but it remains chillingly plausible, a portrait of our fanatical culture of judgement against women, and mothers in particular, taken to a grotesquely logical extreme

A nail-biting explosive story exploring the pressures of 'perfect' parenting

The writing is at times hilarious and scalpel sharp

Part science fiction, part incarceration narrative and part Cultural Revolution memoir, it is as gripping as it is terrifying - and for mothers struggling to 'do the right thing', all too believable

Propulsive and provocative

The School For Good Mothers is a perceptive, prescient and daring debut that presents a dystopia that doesn't feel as far away as we'd like it to

An unforgettable an haunting story about the thoughts, opinions and choices you make

Reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, this eerie page-turner is a captivating depiction of a dystopian world that feels entirely possible. It's not only the gripping story of Frida's personal struggle, but also a thought-provoking work of commentary on American motherhood

I was fascinated and intrigued by this feminist dystopian novel

So brilliant and haunting and ahead of its time... the only book that has ever stopped me from sleeping

Dark and dreamy; a captivating love story

Lushly imagined, extremely charming and very, very readable

One of the most beautiful novels of the year

Lush, evocative, dreamlike... a magical, coming-of-age story

Pure pleasure... Erin Morgenstern is a gifted, classic storyteller, a tale-teller, a spinner of the charmed and mesmerizing - I had many other things I was supposed to be doing, but the book kept drawing me back in and I tore through it. You can be certain this riveting debut will create a group of rêveurs all its own.

The narrative is deft and satisfying, and the author's talent is intriguing

This week's hot read... I loved this book and didn't want it to end... Totally absorbing and beautifully descriptive, it created a whole world I couldn't help but get lost it, especially the slow-burning love story between the two main characters, who are both sorcerers

The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book

I'm not often lost for words, but I'm struggling to find the words to describe just how good this book is and how it made me feel, so I'll just say this: if you are only able to read one book for the rest of your life, make sure it is The Night Circus. You won't regret it

A phantasmagorical world inhabited by compelling characters. Grown-up fans of Harry Potter, take note

Morgenstern paints precise, evocative and visually lush scenes within the tents of her fictional circus… a genuine pleasure to read. Like any successful illusion, it could be carefully unraveled but surely it should simply be enjoyed

For all its whimsy, the author’s lush, evocative, dreamlike prose is not as sugar-coated as it sounds. Her writing is delectable, addictive stuff, and this is an accomplished, refreshingly unusual debut

Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents, Le Cirque des Reves is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazement

A phantasmagorical fairytale for grown-ups

Absolutely spellbinding! A wonderful mix of history and magic that will keep you captivated. We love this magical debut!

Enough here to satisfy fans of JK Rowling or even Suzanna Clarke

For ultimate holiday escapism delve into Morgenstern’s tale… Expect some unfamiliar acts and a good old love story in there too

Enchanting and whimsical historical fantasy, this is a delight for the imagination with its breathtaking imagery, intriguing plot, and beautiful writing