Sylvia Townsend Warner has to be one of the great under-read British novelists of the twentieth century. This, my favourite of her novels, has a disaffected Victorian wife falling for her husband's charismatic mistress, and discovering revolutionary politics along the way

It's a wildly leftist novel of love, war and death; Townsend Warner chucks the lot into her simmering story, but it remains skilfully crafted. Brilliantly entertaining and far ahead of its time

With insight, malice, exquisiteness; in its wit, its instinct for style, its drawing-room urbanities, it will suggest at one time or another the work of a Rebecca West, a Virginia Woolf, an Elinor Wylie

Charged with light and colour. Gloriously original and full of wisdom, humour, and hope. It made me think and care and laugh and cry. One of my all-time favourite books

Cronin's characters are fully drawn, and chime together to tell a sweet story about connection, loss and living

A gorgeous, heartwarming novel. The perfect antidote to the world right now

Filled with kindness and quirky characters who restore your faith in life. This debut will stay with you, answering the question, What is life made of?

Full of honesty and warmth. A beautiful debut

An extraordinary tale of living, love and heartbreak

A beautiful, funny, and incredibly assured story filled with rich characters.

A special and lovely read. Guaranteed to leave you wanting a hug

Heartwarming and remarkable stories of two loveable characters

A whirlpool of memories, regrets and hopes.

Elusive, unsettling, beautiful, haunting. This is a complex, devastating study of human relations; a portrait of intense love and damage in equal measure.

Beautifully written and hauntingly imagined

You can't get much farther north than the Ontario of Mary Lawson's icy, compelling stories of calamity and redemption. A Town Called Solace keeps you breathless with anxiety, then relief and finally even joy

Close to perfection

Lawson's writing is clear and emotive... In this poignant novel, rightfully recognised by the Booker judges, the steadfastness of children brings solace to lost grown-ups

There's a beauty and simplicity in her [Lawson's] stories set in small-town Canada

Anne Tyler is a big fan of this Canadian author and so am I

A lovely, gentle novel with edge, worthy of Anne Tyler

Lawson's writing is such that it appears effortless but, as all the strands come together to create a rich and satisfying tapestry, her genius for storytelling becomes apparent.

Completely absorbing... A Town Called Solace pleases at every level. It's a captivating tale suffused with wisdom and compassion

[In A Town Called Solace] doubts, difficulties and uncertainties of the human condition are examined carefully in a way that is both heartbreaking and joyful

Subtle and darkly funny, this tender novel unspools the interconnected lives of her beautifully drawn characters, as they grapple with grief and loss, while steadfastly hoping for a change of happiness in the face of life's uncertainties

[Lawson] writes an unpretentious prose that zings with metaphorical vim and humour

Exquisitely poignant

[An] absorbing novel