Vivacious Greek girl Electra and reserved Englishman Adam are chalk and cheese on paper. Nevertheless, their bond is unbreakable - until his mother arrives on the scene. With sizeable pinches of love, tragedy and humour, this is deliciously satisfying

Engaging, delicately observed and believable story of a young couple's struggle to stay together after his acid mother moves in with them to recuperate from an accident

A witty, fun yet cautionary tale of marriage

A darkly funny novel about interference, Alzheimer's, Greek Cypriot warmth and several misunderstandings

A whole cacophony of characters from different cultures crowd into this warm and funny novel... A lovely book, rich with snapshots of Cypriot history and culture and an excellent observation of how different families communicate

An engaging and darkly humorous insight into the havoc wrought by a disastrous mother/daughter-in-law relationship, albeit with a delicious cultural twist

Caryl Phillips' exploration of the relations betweeen black and white is nuanced, humane and sypathetic. And his deep awareness of the historical process is combined with an exceptionally intelligent prose style - clear, unencumbered and compassionate

An antidote to cynicism.... Haddon floats insights - sculpted, delicate and precise as origami - on currents of offbeat wit... you don't know whether to laugh or cry at the waywardness of the human spirit, you are salved by the compassion and humour of the tale. The delight is in the detail

It has already been repeat-snubbed by this year's Man Booker judges. They've made a mistake. A Spot of Bother may be a novel about a humdrum family living in Peterborough, told in the third person this time, in deliberately ordinary language. Yet there is more real linguistic artistry, not to mention human empathy, at work, here than in all those poetic prosemongers, the Ondaatjes and the Banvilles... A Spot of Bother is a novel of minor incidents but it tackles big problems

Like a cross between Margaret Drabble and Francoise Sagan

Joughin has an appealing darkness and urgency, as she potently conveys the pleasures and pains of human interactions

Adeptly written and enjoyable... Ruth's childhood perspectives are extremely well captured

Striking story of Ruth and Gray under the spell of famous poets' lives

Reading Joughin's second novel is like immersing yourself in a cool pool at a hazy summer party ...as addictively abrasive as a shot of cold vodka, this wil leave you both refreshed and gasping for stability

This darkly comic story about unpredictable love is perfect if you're looking for some intelligent chicklit