Molly is as vivid and funny as Huckleberry Finn. Back in the late 1970s everyone in the Women's Collective at uni had read Rubyfruit, which is why Rita in Educating Rita is so named. It provoked snobbery then, and probably still now: a book that makes you laugh so much cannot be serious literature. But Rubyfruit has a lot of serious points to make and is great fun along the way

The breakthrough lesbian novel

Tough-talking, tenderhearted

A bawdy tale about growing up lesbian

I found myself laughing hysterically, then sobbing uncontrollably just moments later. A powerful story... A truly incredible book

Bowen has conjured up a delightful and inviting island summer complete with all the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Maine to create a feast for the senses…this feel-good story will make an enjoyable summer read for romance lovers

Bowen crafts an old-fashioned love story with humor and heart as well as a lush setting, quirky characters, and a well-paced narrative

With touches of Shakespearian comedy, this is. . . bright and kind and optimistic. A thoroughly pleasant summer read as breezy as the island itself

A heartwarming read, allowing the reader absorb the briny air, the taste of boiled lobsters, and cozy gatherings that bring one back to the languorous days of long ago endless summers

A suitably surreal cocktail of Kafka, Lagos life and Nigerian wit

A really interesting and different novel from many of the things I have read, or have seen published, this year. You can simply read it as a darkly witty escapist fairytale/myth/fable or you can or as a wonderful, satirical and occasionally daring way to look at society and questions of class, gender and race. Either way you are going to have a great read ahead of you

Barrett’s novel forces the reader to consider important questions regarding the human condition and is a worthwhile read precisely because of the difficult questions it raises.

Barrett reworks Kafka’s family drama as an urban odyssey and make a stunning success of it.