A winner of the Kafka Prize and a frequently cited contender for the Nobel, Yan is one of those rare geniuses who finds in the peculiar absurdities of his own culture the absurdities that infect all cultures

Yan Lianke, one of the most important literary interpreters of contemporary China, combines shocking satire and sharp imagery to address the moral vacuum at the heart of the country's extraordinary transformation

Yan Lianke's powerful dystopian novel, narrated by a teenage boy, is set during a single night in a remote Chinese village... The underlying political message, that China is sleepwalking to disaster under President Xi Ping, could hardly be plainer... But there is so much colour in the book, as the sleepwalkers act more and more oddly, that politics seems secondary. Poignant and unsettling

Masterful...a brave and unforgettable novel, full of tragic poise and political resonance, masterfully shifting between genres and ways of storytelling, exploring the ways in which history and memory are resurrected, how dark, private desires seep or flood out

A remarkable novel – open, like most good novels, to a variety of interpretations. The events described are incredible; the atmosphere all too believable

This exuberant but sinister fable confirms its author as one of China's most audacious and enigmatic novelists

Yan Lianke hopes to illuminate the darkness that underpins contemporary China, and in the process help readers wake up from what Yan, like Joyce before him, suggests is he nightmare of history

A poetic nightmare...the creepiest book I've read in years... Yan's understated wit runs through these pages like a snake through fallen leaves...a wake-up call about the path we're on

The Sea, The Sea is both a novel entirely about the era in which it was written and one that reflects – at an angle – the place and time we are living in… it is a joy to read: a rollicking story that seems endlessly to be building towards some awful, hilarious, frightening conclusion

Kinsella at her put-a-smile-on-your-face best

I'm a huge fan of Kinsella . . . Highly enjoyable

A hilariously funny, yet emotionally deep, novel

Enchanting and clever . . . whip-smart and brilliantly done, with a lightness of touch that disguises a lot of real wisdom.

Sophie Kinsella writes with a warm wit and this clever, funny and emotional novel will make you laugh and cry. *****

A funny, addictive story that shines with real emotion

A delight . . . Joyful, great fun and with quite a few twists along the way

This book . . . has a touch of real wisdom [and] will satisfy Kinsella diehards as well as new readers.

Fizzingly fresh and can't fail to lift your spirits

What an absolute treat – sheer joy from start to finish.

Fast, furious and fabulous fun

Another heart-warming story from the Queen of feel-good fiction

A joy to read

This fun, super-readable breath of fresh air had us completely hooked

An enjoyable read, funny and moving

A fun, frothy good-hearted read

A tale of long-term love and friendship told with Sophie’s blend of warmth and humour