Hits you like a telegram from Hell slid under your door at three o'clock in the morning

Donald Ray Pollock redefines the term 'American Gothic', taking Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner and turning them up to 11...once you start reading it doesn’t let go

One of the most adventurous and significant writers of our time … If the Coen Brothers want their next Oscar they should buy the rights to this book now

Terrifying ... an unsettling masterwork

Superb

Like being dragged backwards through a briar patch by William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor while Nick Cave howls hosannahs at a blood-black moon

Braiding his plotlines into a taut narrative, Pollock is poised to emerge as a new hero of fans of the American gothic literature

If Pollock's powerful collection Knockemstiff was a punch to the jaw, his follow-up ... feels closer to a mule's kick

Sticky, violet and exhilarating - Pollock's southern gothic tale of thrill killers, pervy preachers and vengeance is best read on a long road trip or at a seedy model poolside

The most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again

Unquestionably one of the finest novels of the 20th century, its genius lies in its candour and in prose that simmers with subtle intent.

The word-of-mouth hit of the summer. Read it and you’ll see why

It’s as if this novel is about all of us: our hopes, disappointments and sorrows… a lesson in values, told with love and awe

A wonderful novel, rich and sombre, a record of pain and less but also of moments of vision and tenderness... flawless

This short-but-striking novel quickly reveals itself to be…crime fiction, yes, but also a subtle and deeply introspective consideration of the inertia of lonely middle-age, its philosophy existentialist in the manner of Jean Paul Sartre, Ingmar Bergman and certain novels of Georges Simenon. The result is a highly complex and accomplished work

Intriguing tale… Solstad expertly navigates the bizarre mind of a clever but lonely man locked in an existentialist nightmare

This is no straightforward crime novel…an exploration of guilt, inaction and moral quandaries