Author:Nicholas Shakespeare

Thomas Wavery is the new Consul General at Abyla on the tip of North Africa. A career diplomat, Wavery was once a high flyer, but an affair with a younger woman has dashed his dreams of ambassadorship. He arrives in Abyla with his wife suing for divorce, his passport stolen by a Gibraltarian ape and precious little enthusiasm for the task ahead. His one hope of redemption is a visit from his new love.
He tells a story like an angel... Wonderful
—— ObserverA deeply satisfying book. I feel quite exceptionally inclined to read it all over again
—— Rosemary Stoyle , Literary ReviewShakespeare has completed a richly detailed, remarkably complete imaginary world
—— The TimesHis lyricism is all his own and he raises his lovers to a plateau of passion where Greene never ventured
—— Sunday TelegraphWavery's story has a lyric simplicity and an emotional subtlety that are moving, involving and beautifully observed
—— IndependentHilarious...I'm so fond of the book I named one of my cats Lupin
—— Leslie PhillipsA classic dig at self-importance in suburbia...as fresh and funny today as it was when it first came out in 1892. I defy any reader not to laugh out loud.
—— Sue Macgregor , Daily MailBeneath this dramatic storyline, which will resonate with older teen readers, Gayle Forman cleverly explores the fragility and uncertainty of life. She does so in an emotive and thoughtful manner that will persuade even the most cynical reader of the importance of friendship, family and love
—— Waterstone's Books QuarterlySTARRED REVIEW - Intensely moving, the novel will force readers to take stock of their lives and the people and things that make them worth living
—— Publishers Weekly (US)The author endows the narrative with as much humor as poignancy and lays bare the challenges Mia has encountered in each of her relationships as well as the breakthroughs, leaving readers in suspense until the final bars.
—— www.shelf-awareness.comOriginal and exciting, it is a novel about relationships, life, and the people involved in both.The characters are tangibly real; the plot is fascinating and will cause pages to turn rapidly.Teens and adults alike will find themselves falling in love with Forman's stunning novel
—— Isabel Crevasse , VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates - US) - wwww.voya.comSTARRED REVIEW - Forman excels at inserting tiny but powerful details throughout . . . which will draw readers into this masterful text and undoubtedly tug at even the toughest of heartstrings
—— Kirkus (US)Beneath this dramatic storyline, which will resonate with older teen readers, Gayle Forman cleverly explores the fragility and uncertainty of life. She does so in an emotive and thoughtful manner that will persuade even the most cynical reader of the importance of friendship, family and love.
—— Waterstone's Books QuarterlySTARRED REVIEW - laced with insight, good humor, and wonder
—— Booklist (US)If I Stay is one of the most touching, beautiful, heart-breaking books I've ever read.
If I Stay is simply stunning ... definitely a book to add to my favorites.
It would be a hard heart indeed that remained unmoved . . . the tender feelings that Noble engenders in her readers are to be cherished
—— Daily ExpressWarner navigates the comic, the philosophical and the socially acute like no other writer we have
—— IndependentPlayed refreshingly uncliched games with the device of the unreliable narrator
—— Jonathan Coe , Daily Telegraph, Christmas round upBlake Morrison's examination of the dark heart of male rivalry makes foe a gripping read
—— Aminatta Forna , Sunday Telegraph, Christmas round upPacy and gripping...wonderfully atmospheric
—— Good Book GuideMorrison's compelling study of male competitiveness offers a discomforting account of the amoral excuses and self-deception of the compulsive gambler: "I don't have a problem. I could stop tomorrow"; "gambling is the basis of our whole economy". You reckon you could put it down at any point - though you'd be kidding yourself
—— Alfred Hickling , GuardianThe Bank Holiday weekend from hell is the subject of Blake Morrison's entertaining new novel - a dark little tale about middle-class rivalry and midsummer meltdown. With an ear attuned to metropolitan pretension - modern parenting skills are sent up with gusto - Morrison succeeds in weaving a murderous melodrama that is grounded in the most recognizable of human impulses and desires
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentA tense chamber piece about a twisted friendship...the author's skilful choreography of unsympathetic characters and a menacing tone make for a sharply intelligent novel that is both unnerving and enjoyable
—— Financial TimesThe Last Weekend isn't really a thriller though its well-paced, tight and gripping narrative has you reaching for the same adjectives that you would use to describe one
—— Paul Dunn , The TimesFor those holidaying with old friends…the book tells the chilling story ofa rivalrousfriendship…leaving Alex Clark to conclude that Morrison “keeps the reader constantly intrigued
—— Guardian






