Moving and incredibly funny at the same time. A great achievement.

Dazzling. Intense and gritty at times, sparkling and hilarious at others. I found it absorbing, witty, joyous and moving…and that’s all I really want from a book!

Wise, witty and warm - a deliciously exotic feast of a book, spiced with the two best ingredients, love and laughter

Through her novels, screenwriting and acting Meera Syal has not only changed the way Britain sees British Asians, but how British Asians see and talk about themselves. It is no surprise that her new, much-anticipated, novel is totally original and important and true.

A delicately written, profound study of the female condition in the rich world and the poor. The gifted Syal does it again.

Surely the makings of a hit ... This book is bound to delight many readers, who will embrace Syal's well-chosen subject, her warm and witty voice and her passionate involvement with the world.

Wonderfully candid .. Syal’s main achievement with this rumbustious, confrontational and ultimately heartbreaking book has been to turn the standard British-Asian displacement narrative on its head

Witty and moving

Sharp comedy

Great read

Sprawling, humorous, sensitive

For sheer scope and ambition Syal makes Dickens and Tolstoy seem single minded. She pulls it off with panache.

Warm, witty, exotic. This wise, indignant novel goes many miles beyond your average celebrity effusion.

Deeply impressive .. Syal has done a beautiful job on the very modern problems faced by women everywhere, and the compromises they make and the inevitability of ageing.

Syal's main achievement with this rumbustious, confrontational and heartbreaking book has been to turn the stand British-Asian displacement narrative on its head.

A frank and beautifully written tale of friendship and motherhood.

Funny, wise, warm, confidently straddling the contrasting cultures of Britain and India and acutely perceptive about both.

Gives much food for thought. I can imagine many reading groups debating this well into the evening. Highly recommended.

Funny, direct and very topical. Syal's compelling novel touches on red-hot feminine issues that cry out to be discussed, preferably in a book group, with plenty of wine.

Really good books have a way of transporting the reader to places they'd never normally go to, opening their eyes to experiences and isssues they wouldn't otherwise consider. Meera Syal does all this and more. A beautifully written novel about female friendship, surrogacy and the problems of late parenthood.

Rich, sensual, earthy and utterly unforced. I was transported.

Alive with malice and grace, this is a taut tale reminiscent of the nightmares of Patricia Highsmith

Prey and predators circle in lush southeast Asian settings that gleam with Osborne’s dazzling skill as a travel-writer

It shines with intrigue, with investigations into the nature of the non-rational, and evil, wrapped up in taught plotting

One of Britain’s most accomplished novelists.

An ingenious and atmospheric novel.

Lawrence Osborne is an experienced, competent author with an impressive knowledge of Asia… Comparisons with Graham Greene seem to be generously offered by other reviewers and I’ve already alluded to Conrad and a Patricia Highsmith yet my impression is that Mr. Osborne has a style all of his own.

McCarthy has put his finger on something, and he’s nailed it very precisely. It’s how we live now. All the information we process every day. What it’s doing to us.