Enthralling... so beautifully observed... as captivating as any thriller

Spare and devastating, powerful. Brookner is an unflinching novelist who writes beautifully and fearlessly

Elegiac ... its magnificent final sentence is among the most moving of Brooknerian conclusions

Clever and elegant

So well done - so carefully is the novel wrought - that reading it offers deep and enduring pleasure

Brookner is brilliant ... readers will not be disappointed. Her women are very real, more recognizable and more human than any obviously loveable character could hope to be

Even though it's only January, The Tragedy Paper is already one of my favourite reads of 2013.

This book is an intriguing, mysterious story of loneliness, heartbreak, and how you can learn from others’ mistakes.

The Tragedy Paper has the earmarks of what will one day be a true literary classic . . . LaBan brings to life a rich cast of characters, each struggling with their own definitions of a 'tragedy' and the trials of adolescence and growing up.

Escape with this mystery that will keep you searching for the answer to: what really happened? . . . This page-turner is told from Tim and Duncan's perspectives as Duncan finds the key to writing the biggest, most scandalous Tragedy Paper of all Irving School history. Trust us when we say a school assignment has never been this intense!

The story is perfect . . . the writing is simply outstanding . . . this was an absolutely gorgeous story to read.

This rich debut couldn't be further from the straightforward 20th-century American family saga it appears at first to be . . . Spanning many decades, it is an intricate portrait not only of complex family ties, but also of one quietly strong woman who heads this complicated tribe of siblings, children and friends. With each chapter narrated by one of Hattie's children, the power of Brooklyn author Ayana Mathis' novel is in its ability to create distinctive yet precise characters brimming with recognisable humanity.

The opening pages of Ayana’s debut took my breath away. I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.

As unremittingly bleak as her characters’ lives are, Mathis has not produced a grim novel: it is as much about our need for joy as it is about our struggles against bitterness. Written with elegance and remarkable poise, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is rather like its heroine – a bit withholding at times, but memorable and with a hint of something formidable glinting under the surface.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a moving story of a broken American dream.

This is an ambitious debut, already praised by Pulitzer and Orange Prize winner Marilynne Robinson and chat show host Oprah Winfrey. It is well-deserved, for this is an epic tale of struggle, oppression, love and loss, told bravely.

Mathis beautifully unfolds the heartbreaking scene of a mother watching her babies’ lives ebb away . . . Chosen for the influential Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, this ambitious debut has attracted a lot of attention.

Builds into a tense, real, multi-layered narrative of incredible emotional power. Much better than boring old Alice Walker.

Short stories aren’t usually known for boosting adrenaline levels, but Canadian author Alexander Macleod’s debut collection isn’t one for the bedside table… firmly rooted in work and family Macleod’s relaxed story-telling will make you feel anything but

Tipped as one of the best books of the year by Canadian critics…these are superbly crafted tales…MacLeod does his father proud with this debut

Both visceral and gracious in approach he delicately balances the physical stress and strain of everyday lives with mental and emotional tolls

A sharp, witty exploration of relationships, art and celebrity culture

[Sheila Heti] has an appealing restlessness, a curiosity about new forms, and an attractive freedom from pretentiousness or cant…How Should a Person Be? offers a vital and funny picture of the excitements and longueurs of trying to be a young creator in a free, late-capitalist Western City…This talented writer may well have identified a central dialectic of twenty-first-century postmodern being

Funny…odd, original, and nearly unclassifiable…Sheila Heti does know something about how many of us, right now, experience the world, and she has gotten that knowledge down on paper, in a form unlike any other novel I can think of

Playful, funny... absolutely true

Sheila's clever, openhearted commentary will draw wry smiles from readers empathetic to modern life's trials and tribulations

Amusing and original