Shute's most considerable achievement

The most evocative novel on the aftermath of a nuclear war

Fictions such as On the Beach played an important role in raising awareness about the threat of nuclear war. We stared into the abyss and then stepped back from the brink

Still incredibly moving after nearly half a century

Timely and ironic..an indelibly sad ending that leaves you tearful and disturbed

On the Beach didn't offer a literal second chance at life. But, as a nuclear cloud drifted over to people in Australia, it did show how knowledge of the end can dislodge the truest of feelings from their hiding places and give them a second chance

Haunting

Remarkable books...I share a fierce personal regard for Nevil Shute

A novel which, while aiming at popularity, respected its readership and was possessed of a decent level of craft

this book by Nevil Shute, is one of the finest of the period. ... the drama comes from Shute's ability to capture how different people choose to come to the end of their lives, sometimes heroically, sometimes selfishly, but always gripping the reader's imagination and twisting the emotion. A taut, tightly written tale by an underrated, indeed largely forgotten writer."

They don't write them like this anymore

A neat piece of storytelling

A forensic examination of loss and misunderstanding, a paean to the vital force of stories, and an incredibly moving look at a sword of Damocles that hangs over us all.

Harvey shows her remarkable powers of empathy and her no less remarkable literary skill. To write about a disordered mind is to court the danger of creating a work that is itself disordered. But from start to finish her control is absolute....I can think of few more distinguished literary debuts in recent years

Moving, convincing, adroit- it is a remarkably accomplished first novel and a beautiful jacket

Harvey's is certainly the outstanding fictional debut to have come my way this year

Intricately and delicately woven

Impressive first novel [which] plays some original tricks with narrative

An extremely gifted writer

Deeply original and captivating...The lyrical power of these shifting and competing narratives is matched by the absolute emotional realism of Jake's own desperate plight: his shame and anger and impotence are devastatingly recorded. And yet this is not a depressing novel, but rather one so full of urgent life that it rouses even as it terrifies.

Many novels have documented the trials of living with dementia, but this mind-bending debut throws us straight into the skewed recesses of a sufferer's brain... An exhilarating trip, but for the thought that this is a place some of us might visit one day.

Brilliantly melds a factual post-war murder into a dark fictional tale

Land of Marvels offers a fluent plot peopled by sharp, affecting characters and graced with the author's usual erudite wit and understanding humour

[a] cleverly plotted and elegantly written novel...Unsworth has evidently done a great deal of research, but this is woven seamlessly into the fabric of the novel so that the reader is caught up in the excitement of Somerville's discoveries.