Sam West's readings were superb ...He brought to mind Martin Jarvis doing Just William – and praise doesn't come any higher than that.

Extraordinary... Worth engaging with at every level; a thrilling story told in thrilling language

Shalimar the Clown is Rushdie's most engaging book since Midnight's Children. It is a lament. It is a revenge story. it is a love story. And it is a warning

Deeply disturbing and immensely moving... An exquisite, broken thing of pain and beauty

Excellent... A characteristically daring walk along the tightrope of fiction

This is an important book... Wonderful

I'd say it's his best novel yet

There are some breathtakingly eloquent passages

Passionate, well-informed

The story is exciting and memorably analyses the way in which fanaticism can wreck the most inoffensive lives

[Vann is] such a fine craftsman.

Strange and sad and desperately readable

A kind of modern fairy tale, one laced with treachery and trials and the greatest demon of all to battle, the past ... Vann’s novels are striking, uncompromising portraits of American life; here is another exceptional example.

By pulling no punches in this explicit exploration of family, forgiveness, duty, acceptance, parent-child relationships, and what constitutes abuse, Vann has outdone himself.

A 12-year-old’s fragile world, mesmerizing innocence, and emerging adolescence are the heart of this alluring novel … Her fresh voice rings true … Since electrifying the literary world five years ago with his debut novel, Legend of a Suicide, Vann has racked up an astonishing number of international awards. This lovely, wrenching novel should add to that list.

Genuinely thought-provoking.

Vann’s deceptively simple style conceals the story’s raw emotional power.