Masterly ... the story develops with many a deft twist ... Brook wrings every drop of feeling out of a gripping human situation, and his vignettes of war-ravaged Hamburg are superb

Brook's profoundly moving...beautifully written novel ponders issues of decency, guilt and forgiveness...the meticulous integrity of his prose builds a narrative of chastened humans turning back from the brink

Superb. A painfully clear portrait of Germany in defeat, conjuring surprise after surprise as it shows how the forces of politics and history penetrate even the most intimate moments of its characters' emotional lives.

Rhidian Brook takes a piece of history I thought I knew well and breaks it open; The Aftermath is a compelling, surprising and moving novel

A moving, always enthralling journey ... Rhidian Brook has written a brilliant novel

Brook is wonderful at evoking the atmosphere of this forgotten time...with a spareness matched to the harshness of that winter. There is much to think about here

A captivating take not only of love among the ruins but also of treachery and vengeance... The Aftermath is full of illicit love - for an erstwhile enemy, for a country and its overthrown regime - and as loyalties are tested and consciences are prickled it does what all good novels should do: it poses many complex questions and resists neat, topped-and-tailed answers

Arresting, unsettling and compelling; suffused with suffering and hope

An extraordinary read

Stylish, heart-searching and convincing

Terrific. Suspicion, resentment and misunderstanding haunt this city. Richly atmospheric

This centenary year, so many more female writers have chosen The Great War as their central theme ...there is WAKE by Anna Hope, chronicling the lives of women battling with postwar loss ...I welcome these, and more, for their stories and the history lessons they incorporate

Poignant and powerful, it's a must-read.

Anna Hope reveals a tragic connection between three women living i 1920s London in her impressive debut

Hope weaves her three characters’ workaday narratives together, building scenes that wear their research lightly …The women’s lives come at us in a present-tense narration that keeps the book easy to read, letting the characters’ thoughts bob to the surface of the text in italics, as if in a nod towards the modernism that was brewing in that very period.

A very simple book which elicits very complicated emotions ...luscious, impressive, moving.

It's an unusual story, told well and written delicately. The women and the world they inhabit are beautifully drawn. It tells us that life can continue to be lived even after terrible loss.

Hope’s unblinking prose is reminiscent of Vera Brittain’s classic memoir “Testament of Youth” in its depiction of the social and emotional fallout, particularly on women, of the Great War.

Wake is a staggeringly good first novel, packed with soulful insight, universal emotions and those intimate small details which add more depth and meaning to a picture than the brutal sweep of a broad brush.

It’s hard for me to believe that this amazing, touching book is a debut novel. Absolutely recommend and already on the run for a spot in my top 10.

It is a powerful read; you can almost see the endless mud of the trenches, and sense the fear of those young men.

Anna Hope wove her spell and managed to conjure up an intriguing tale, quite rich with emotion that held me entranced until the last page. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Wake is a brilliant debut novel, deeply moving, well-plotted and engrossing.

This is such a brilliant book; one that is both beautifully written and emotionally involving, with a fascinating plot and wonderful characters who pluck at your heartstrings on every page.

I have no doubt that Wake is going to be included in my Top Ten books of 2014, I know that it's only January, but this is a book that has had a huge effect on me.

The only regret I have is that I didn’t read this book sooner. WAKE is luxury. Pure luxury.

She manages to capture every single detail, every emotion and every sound.

Wake is that rare and beautiful thing: a first novel that sings with such power and grace that it lifts itself effortlessly from the pack. Powerful, passionate, compassionate, it marks the rising of a new star in the literary firmament. Anna Hope is here to stay.

Intricately researched and beautifully written, with the kind of restrained yet emotional prose one expects from a seasoned author. Its characters, too, have a depth and quiet tragedy one rarely finds in debut fiction. In this centenary year commemorating the outbreak of war, there've been many novels about the conflict:Wake is without doubt one of the best.

A masterclass in historical fiction

Impressive ... A heart-breaking tale of grief and guilt

[Abrams is] good on the squirm-inducing detail of physical discomforts and injuries

Though Fobbit is a satire…its value lies more in the fact that it’s a very detailed, very informative portrait of the madness in Iraq in the early years of the American occupation. The sights and sounds are adroitly rendered, the damnable heat skilfully rendered in text. There are times when you can almost smell the gore on the concrete

An enjoyable and alternative take on war