Clear and powerful

An esoteric masterpiece

A subtle examination of universal female behavior

[Enchi’s] allusions to the masks of No plays and to the classic The Tale of Genji, the brilliant way she layers and interweaves the ancient, the more recent past and the present are haunting and rich. A fictional enchantment

Enchi’s writing has some of the same amniotic fluidity as Tolstoy’s, an almost bodily, floating immersion into the effortless habitat of the story

[Mogenstern's] second novel is just as enchanting, a lovely, lush voyage through vividly detailed worlds where lost libraries, elegant ballrooms, subterranean seas and covert cities are all beautifully described... The writing is whimsically gorgeous. On every page there’s an image to savour...as Erin Morgenstern celebrates the wonders of imagination and the lure of stories in this spellbinding book. *****

A book to get lost in…Morgenstern’s second novel boasts winding tunnels lined with packed bookshelves and cosy alcoves containing just enough light to read by… funny and…thought-provoking… [The Starless Sea] an intricate exploration of the stories we tell ourselves and others

A mystical adventure in an enchanted universe

A lovely, lush voyage through vividly detailed worlds… an amazing literary adventure

Erin Morgenstern’s done it again: she creates a magnificent, imaginative world around a story of love and magic. This love letter to bibliophiles is dreamlike and uncanny, grounded in deeply felt emotion, and absolutely thrilling.

A magnificent quest, a sense of unfolding adventure and danger, gold-wrought fantasy, and endless provocation on what storytelling really means.

A puzzlebox of a book, full of meta-narratives and small folkloric tales that will delight readers. [Morgenstern] trusts her readers to follow along and speculate, wonder, and make leaps themselves as she dives into tales of pirates, book burnings, and men lost in time, giving the book a mythic quality that will stick with readers long after they put it down.

A high-wire feat of metatextual derring-do, Morgenstern weaves Zachary's adventure into a stunning array of linked fables, myths, and origin stories... exquisitely pleasurable.. a love letter to readers as much as an invitation: Come and see how much magic is left in the world. Fans of Neil Gaiman and V.E. Schwab, Kelly Link and Susanna Clarke will want to heed the call. An ambitious and bewitching gem of a book with mystery and passion inscribed on every page.

A timeless love story

Undeniably imaginative

The Starless Sea effortlessly constructs a fantasy that feels real, building a world filled with characters that you’ll know and care about… an enchanting, satisfying finish

Highly imaginative

Beautifully written… [The Starless Sea] is mesmerising

The Starless Sea is quintessential Erin Morgenstern: breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully emotive, and a fantastic read. A booklover fantasy, Morgenstern’s follow up to the Night Circus does not disappoint. Set aside an entire day for this one, because you’ll pick it up and become very reluctant to put it back down

Deserves the same recognition that greeted Max Porter's similarly constructed fictionalised memoir Grief is the Thing With Feathers... uses its broken-up style to explore experiences that defy easy comprehension. There is nothing indulgent about this quietly observed account of a black man Owusu gives the name of K... There is a physicality to his writing, the impression of incoherent feelings being wrestled into shape, that lends his book heft. K's future is, in the end, ambiguous, but Owusu's surely gleams bright.

A bold prose poem written in novella form, That Reminds Me is one of the most powerful pieces of writing to be published in 2019.

The latest release from Stormzy's increasingly impressive #Merky imprint, this is a stylistically ambitious memoir of a precarious Tottenham upbringing. Owusu writes with a poet's gift for seemingly incidental observation in a potent story that's left deliberately, troublingly fragmented.

A virtuosic debut by a raw new talent. An honest and timely evaluation of a black man's struggle to belong and later come to terms with failing mental health. Utterly convincing and deeply sad, Owusu's storytelling will bring readers to tears.

Derek Owusu is not just a brilliant writer, he’s a deep thinker. Anything he does is relevant, and meaningful. It would be easy to say that he is mainly concerned with the condition of young black men, but in truth he speaks truth to all of us.

A magnificent achievement.

Written with candour and verve, and full of moments of heart-stopping anguish and beauty.