Few writers give me such consistent pleasure

She has such great psychological insights into human beings, which is rare. She is one of the best fiction writers writing today

As discrete entities, Hadley’s short stories are intense, miniature novels in themselves; bound together in a novel, they become quietly brilliant, offering an incisive exploration into how life’s individuals episodes add up to a meaningful whole.

Hadley is a writer of exceptional intelligence and skill and, for all the apparent conventionality of her vision, hers is a subtly subversive talent.

There is something reassuring yet deliciously unexpected about a Tessa Hadley novel.

The most astute and sympathetic of writers.

This novel is the life story of an ordinary, middle-aged woman – Stella. Only that she is not ordinary because Tessa Hadley is writing her into existence and is behind her like a following wind… Hadley writes as a masterly illustrator might draw.

Hadley’s achievement in her fifth novel is to express a life significantly shaped and often constrained by discomfort – physical, mental, emotional – but a life that nonetheless progresses, mutating from circumstance to circumstance, decade to decade.

Hadley…has a genius for pithy analysis.

Gorgeously erudite prose.

A continuous pleasure to read... Reinforced by some quiet but very clever narrative arrangement.

A quietly brilliant novel.

Tessa Hadley writes like a dream, the prose precise but funny; her psychology always seems spot on.

Hadley writes beautifully of the unpredictable mess of life.

Understated, elegant writing and acute observation of ordinary life are Tessa Hadley’s strengths.

What holds the attention is not a dramatic, twisting tale providing sudden revelations but an intimate narrative voice that renders people, places and experiences in vivid detail. Clever Girl is a remarkable novel by one of this country’s finest, if most unassuming talents.

Hadley is at her best when recalling how it felt growing up 40 years ago, but also how maternal bonds both reward and frustrate.

A gripping tale.

Entirely in keeping with Tessa Hadley’s subtle, intelligent and realistic storytelling.

Hadley imagines her characters, and enters their minds, with wonderful clarity and truthfulness.

The best novel I read, by a mile… It's so finely worked, like emotional needlepoint, though she handles time masterfully, too. Stella, its heroine, seems always to be moving towards the light, and I read the last 20 pages with tears pouring down my cheeks.

Tessa Hadley writes beautifully – she can take you right inside a person's mind... The stories are exquisitely told and full of detail.

Looking for the next Kate Atkinson or Alice Munro? Pick up this lovely novel.

If I had to recommend one novel to you this year, it would be Clever Girl.

Tessa Hadley makes "ordinary" lives extraordinary... Perhaps her finest novel yet.

Gorgeously erudite.

She deserves all the prizes. Hadley is psychologically acute, drily witty and…absolutely wonderful on place… It’s a remarkable novel, not least for the seamless way Hadley handles the passage of time, though its chief bit of daring for me is its expression of what cleverness feels like, and the impact this may have on the trajectory of an ordinary woman’s life… I read the novel’s last 30 pages with tears rolling down my cheeks, a rare thing for me.