Its portrayal of the vulgarities of literary London hits just the right note

A rollicking read. Fishwick has a fine ear for the absurdities and pomposity of the in-crowd chatter

Michael Fishwick's debut is not only brilliant but also different. Packed with unobtrusive felicities of phrase and feeling, this wickedly wide-eyed picture of life in the eighties among the magazines and takeovers, the waif-like women and the strangely pathetic domestic lives of those who live by and among the media is top-notch satire

Michael Fishwick has captured the essence of that nasty decade and its catastrophic insensibility

Sharp and very, very funny, this is another of Irving's fiercely original meditations of life's inherent strangeness

Irving has a literary style similar to a snowball effect: with each novel he creates symbols and develops themes to accompany those he has already accumulated. Grief, loss, abortion, amputation, sex, children, America's political history and the power of foresight are all explored here

Richly entertaining reading: part satire, part farce... there's no better - or funnier - reintroduction to the least known truly great American author

A coruscating comedy of sexual manners. In the margins of a hard-hitting satire on the modern media, Irving has produced some of the funniest bedroom scenes of recent years

If you are looking for something light and provocative for the beach this is a great little number

an engaging, warm-hearted novel'

[A] comic masterpiece

Comic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive

It's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English Literature.

The London Train is an intelligent and gently manipulative story of human weakness and lies... Wicked but delightful

Hadley offers first-class views on the psychological scenery of 21st-century Britain

A passionate, hilarious look at mid-twentieth-century Britain.

Something I know I love ... Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, which I could read endlessly.

I’m bowled over, hooked and, hurrah, there are 11 more volumes to go as Jenkins grows up. Terrific.

A highly accomplished debut, this is a chilling portrait of racial tension, social immorality, betrayal and love, and also an atmospheric examination of the end of innocence.

The writing is strong and though the sections featuring Gay's earlier life lose momentum, the story picks up pace when the girls' paths become entwined and the conclusion is compelling and thrillingly macabre.

This fictional account of a true story gives a darkly shocking version of the events surrounding this tragic case.

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