Here is love as a weapon and a balm. Love as faith, fate and redemption ... a gorgeously wrought book - compassionate without dissolving into nostalgia

Endlessly surprising and incredibly moving

A triumph ... Ryan slowly and beautifully reveals the way that even broken people can open the door fully to the truth of themselves

His moving story of love and loss deserves to win a host of awards. It's an outstanding read

I think you have to truly love people to write like this

A triumph of quiet but devastating power, by some distance the best novel I've read so far this year

A big-hearted, beautiful work of art, full of truth and intensity

Classic Ryan; poignant and atmospheric storytelling ... quiet but intermittently explosive

I knew Donal Ryan's latest would be good and I was right - it's a risky act of imagination that works, and the sentences are as beautiful as ever

The lyricism of Ryan's prose, laced with compassion, is astonishing

With each new novel Donal Ryan's ink seems to sink deeper into the page. In Strange Flowers he gathers together the fragments of broken lives and makes us something new and beautiful from them

A book so exquisite in its language it pushes me to want to write better ... you will love the quiet world of Paddy & Kit Gladney and all it is their daughter Moll brings to their door. Beautiful

A beautiful, almost unbearably moving novel. Donal Ryan's compassion shines through every word he writes

This is a novel to savour, for its mastery of language, its power of storytelling and its sure hand as it covers the sweep of time. Irish fiction was in a great place already, but Donal Ryan has gone and raised the bar again. All the beauty and sorrow of life can be found in these pages

The lyricism of the prose can be pitch perfect, placing Ryan among the great writers of rural Ireland such as John McGahern and Mary Lavin

It is the sweetest, gentlest story of love ... each character so tenderly evoked

Ryan's beautifully written story reads like coming home and is a breath of fresh air

Tender and beautifully written ... We read this outstanding book in one sitting and will definitely return to it again

What a beautiful book, I loved it

Beautifully observed Tipperary setting and tenderly created characters telling a story of loss and redemption ... Love permeates Ryan's work

A master with the written world and who has an insight into the Irish psyche which is not only stunning, but is hard to touch with a flame

The slim novel belies its size by packing in a whole world of exploration of social class, gender, sexuality, race, parenthood, and religion. For all its scope, nothing is shoehorned in. It's all naturally and gently explored

One of the greatest Irish novels of this century so far

A brilliant and ambitious addition to a body of work from an author who is inevitably, and seemingly effortlessly, writing his way into the pantheon of great Irish novelists

Utterly captivating

Ryan reaffirms his place amongst Ireland's greatest wordsmiths ... This is a book which more than justifies the hype that accompanies it

A novel carried by deep feeling and great empathy

The writing is so exquisite, the dialogue so authentic, the sympathy so deep

Ryan's love of people pours from every page

One of the standout books for me this year. He's a master of the craft and has written a family story with humanity and warmth, turning sentence after sentence to die for

Inventive

A lovingly crafted story that draws you in, gets under the skin and will resonate long after

Heartbreaking but redemptive, and lightened by French's trademark humour, this is a compelling read that will keep you poised between laughter and tears

A tantalising story of motherhood told with Dawn French's signature warmth

As ever, even in the darkest of times, Dawn has found humour to inject into her novel

A brilliant book

The life-affirming and unmissable new novel

A tale told with warmth

While Dawn French's latest novel contains a dash of humour, it's also heart-wrenching

A fabulous emotional tearjerker of a novel

Praise for Dawn French

Hilarious and brilliant

I adored According to YES. It's so different to anything I've read in forever, so charming, wise, brilliantly written. I loved it all

Witty and wise, it'll have you burning the midnight oil. A cracker

Very funny and packs an emotional clout. Brilliant!

An enlightening and feel-good read offering a fresh look at life and how to embrace it. Funny and enjoyable to the end

There is lots of fun to be had reading this book. It's impossible not to warm to Rosie, a funny and open-hearted woman who acts as a salve and comfort blanket for this unhappy, inhibited family. There's something quite joyous about the way she unashamedly romps her way through the novel, changing the lives of those around her for the better

Another hilarious novel!

French can spin a yarn . . . which sets According to YES apart. Think the vicar of Dibley, without the dog collar. YES YES YES indeed

Wise and poignant

Heart-warming