A pacy tale of two women who discover they've been simultaneously amrried to one man - at his funeral. Witty, ludicrously melodramatic and psychologically perceptive, and you'll polish it off between Luton and Heraklion.

A smart, gripping story that we just couldn't stop reading - you won't believe the ending. *****

The first great science fiction novel of the science fiction century

One of the best last-man books, The Purple Cloud still surprises with its passionate despair and prescient scenes of mass extinction, motorcars, electrified billboards and telephone sex by undersea cable

This absolutely engrossing tale is written with serene poise

By the end, as with the French classic The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the novel emerges as a cautionary tale of such subtlety that its truths - about dependency, love and ownership - are made bearable by the manner of their telling. And by their philosophical charm - which is Medvei's gift

The most affectionate literary portrait since Bottom was 'translated' in A Midsummer Night's Dream

It's short and definitely a page-turner - but with lingering thoughtfulness, rather than the rush-through-discard-immediately feel of some fast-paced books… He certainly knows how to craft a novel so that the reader rushes through, loving every moment, curious as to what the next page will hold

This is a wildly entertaining book but, beware, it also bites

Achingly funny, touching and fizzing with intelligence, this book will have you laughing out loud even as you fear for the state of world politics

A delicious bon-bon of a book, skewering Pakistani society.Great good fun

In Makkai's picaresque first novel, Lucy, a 26-year-old children's librarian, "borrows" her favorite patron, bright, book-loving 10-year-old Ian, after his fundamentalist parents enroll him in a program meant to "cure" his nascent homosexuality.

His biggest, most ambitious and most engaging novel to date

Psychological acuity, a wonderful linguistic precision and the ability to make beautiful accordance between form and content via thoughtful narrative experiment. Gods without Men is a step further along the road towards the full realisation of Kunzru's early promise. It makes undeniable the claim that he is one of our most important novelists . . . As large and cruel and real as life

Ambitiously eclectic . . . smartly sharp social detail, high-fidelity dialogue, vivid evocation of place . . . ironic wit and exuberant guyings of paranormal gobbledegook

Fuelled by an energetic intelligence. Along with a love of big ideas came narrative zest, verbal and comic flair, and an acute eye for contemporary mores both East and West . . . Gods with Men marks another new and bold departure . . . This really is Kunru's great American novel . . . Compulsively readable, skilfully orchestrated, Kunzru's American odyssey brings a new note into his underlying preoccupation with human identity'

Being able to create a vivid sense of place is one of the hallmarks of a quality literary writer, but few could have done so as brilliantly as Hari Kunzru in his latest novel Gods without Men

Intensely involving . . . Gods Without Men is one of the best novels of the year