This book is a serious vibe and wickedly funny. It's a slyly poignant satire on cruise ships, crappy jobs and capitalism from the author of the also-incredible Supper Club

Far from normal... Williams has a deft touch in developing, by the accretion of small details, a sense of the strangeness of her characters and their situation - the feeling that the world is spinning imperceptibly off its axis

This is darkly comic existential fiction at its best, for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Sam Byers and Sayaka Murata... A subversive satire on consumer capitalism and the millennial search for meaning

Williams succeeds in satirising the seemingly unmockable: the overwhelming absurdities of modern life... There's more than a hint of a fever dream about the whole affair... Comparisons with Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation are unavoidable

Lara Williams is the queen of smart modern satire. Sharp and evocative, funny and dark, The Odyssey captures the joy and the weirdness of work, travel, ambition, and being a human woman who wants things. I could read her all day

Slyly humorous, sharp, courageous and at times devastating... The Odyssey is a wildly original satire about the struggle to forge human connection and the craving for some semblance of order when one's life has fallen apart. Startlingly unique and beautifully written

Astonishing, subversive and darkly funny - The Odyssey is another dazzler of a novel from the bold and highly perceptive Lara Williams

Perceptive, enigmatic and thought-provoking - I couldn't put it down. Wonderful!

Mischievous and thought-provoking

I have never read anything like this... Deliciously unpredictable, a testament to Lara Williams' fearlessness in diving into the absurd, cringeworthy, and downright uncomfortable aspects of life

Lara Williams dissects Ingrid's character layer by layer, building the story through a series of tantalizing, frequently bizarre reveals that show exactly how this troubled woman ended up on a cruise ship that, like her, is falling apart. Readers who enjoy Melissa Broder and Ottessa Moshfegh will appreciate this surreal trip through a troubled woman's psyche

I loved this surreal retelling of the Odyssey set in the pressure-cooker environment of a cruise ship, the ideal site for her gripping takedown of workplace culture. Unhinged guru-god-boss Keith is a chillingly accurate echo of managerial bullshit - beneath their standard issue tracksuits, his staff vibrate uncannily with repressed trauma and sexual frustration. Our 'hero' Ingrid's quest for self-improvement serves as a warning that however hard you try, finally, you cannot hide from yourself. The Odyssey is a darkly comic anti-bildungsroman that sends up the idea of 'professional development' and the profound alienation of the contemporary workplace

Slender and mysterious, The Odyssey is equal parts satire and elegy, coming from the very edge of the abyss... It is a book that demands of the reader just as much as it rewards them with. Williams is so good at calling attention to the dangerous borders of our day-to-day lives: the story of a lone woman's yearning [and] a universal warning against complacency. Unsettling, risk-taking, profoundly moving - I loved it

The Odyssey is destined to become a classic of avoidance literature. With terrific bite, Lara Williams disorients her protagonist and her readers. Dislocated by the interminable movement between grime and gloss, the sea and land, we all just might outwit what we most want to escape

Both joyful and heartbreaking

Deftly drawn... a warm debut about loss, healing and making new connections

We loved this heartwarming story

Weaves together tales of man's best friend helping in the darkest days

Waller's tormented, endearing and intriguing characters cross paths as they walk dogs on the Sussex Downs in a bittersweet, touching novel of waggy tails, wet noses and tear-filled eyes.

A charming novel that focuses on the healing properties of man and woman's best friend

Waller has a lyrical way of weaving words that perfectly encapsulates a feeling or thought ... Funny, sad and reassuringly sage, Dog Days is a story of humanity, family and life.

A glorious read full of love and humour

Combines two total opposites - sorrow and joy. The way Waller makes the two work together is outstanding

A charming novel that focusses on the healing powers of man and woman's best friend

With its tightly plotted twists Dog Days is an exhilarating, at times even vertiginous ride... The mix of human passion and canine good sense works triumphantly..

'A tender, complicated novel of love, loss and self-discovery.'

An emotional tour-de-force that will leave you with the whole-hearted understanding that dogs really do bring people (even the most unlikely of us) together.

Brilliant, funny, stomach-turningly accurate

Very funny, intense and exhilarating

A funny, thought-provoking revenge story. Elizabeth Zott is ahead of her time. This is such a great book, everyone should read it!

Garmus has made feminism not just palpable, but delicious

A truly involving and uplifting book! Bonnie Garmus addresses serious topics with humour that is genuinely funny. I especially liked the dog. Mine only appears to know one word, which is 'supper', but there again she is a Labrador. I'm sure this is going to be a great success, and deserves to be

This incredible novel has EVERYTHING - an unforgettable heroine, wry humour, love, family and bucketloads of optimism and female empowerment. It's WONDERFUL

An energetic debut ... A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find

Bold, smart and often hilarious look at so-called women's work

Charming and emboldening tale with a vintage sheen... A thoroughly entertaining and emboldened look at gender in the 1960s. A must read!

Garmus delivers an assured voice, an indelible heroine and relatable love stories

Elizabeth is a woman who challenges the norms of a woman in the 60s...her perseverance to succeed is enthralling. The fight to do what she really wants, and that alone, is one that'll have you rooting for her throughout

Indefatigable and formidable, Elizabeth pushes the bounds of how women and their work are perceived in this thoroughly engaging debut novel

A kicky debut, this book tackles feminism, resilience, and rationalism in a fun and refreshing way

Every bit as brilliant as everyone is saying. Funny, clever, full of heart and wonderful characters. I loved it

Unforgettable ... Elizabeth Zott is intelligent, fearless, determined and utterly inspiring

An absolute delight. Zott is a cracking protagonist - strikingly single-minded, socially awkward, fiercely determined to forge her own path

Witty, fast-paced and unabashedly amusing' Lessons in Chemistry is 'written with charm, verve and piercing insight ... a future classic

The best book I've read recently. I loved it

I loved it. You don't want to finish it. You don't want to put it down. It's wonderful to hear a voice that has total honesty and clarity. I love that Elizabeth Zott is funny and hasn't got a clue that she's funny

I loved everything about it. There were so many things I could relate to

i couldn't put it down. It was so easy to read: hilarious, heartfelt. With all of the issues that we are still dealing with right now. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure

Laugh-aloud funny, witty and provocative, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY recreates the rampant sexism of America just before Betty Friedan's THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE and the bonfire of the bras

A funny, big-hearted read

I adored this confident, witty portrait of an unforgettable woman and her time

One of the smartest and funniest novels to appear this year

We guarantee you will love this charming debut

This smart, uproarious, emotional page-turner...has been the year's runaway hit. Rightly so

Irresistible, a gorgeous tribute to resilience and the many types of love that sustain us

Sharp and deliciously readable. Brings bite as well as charm to the tale of a super-rational scientist navigating sexism in early 60s America.

The idiosyncratic wit of this year's blockbuster debut is instantly appealing, but it's also a narrative with real bite. Uplifting and irresistibly zany

I fell for Elizabeth Zott immediately. A wonderfully entertaining and empowering read

A wonderful novel - polished, pacy, funny, witty, warm, life-affirming, and thought-provoking

Witty and sometimes hilarious. The CATCH-22 of early feminism

Enchanting, clever, funny and packed with deeply engaging characters. I still think about it a lot

As with all the best stories, there is a timelessness to this book. One senses it will be read in ten or twenty years' time

Biting and cheering in exactly the right measure

The TV cook bit hooked me right in and it did not disappoint. This book is Charming, witty and clever