A deceptively simple book, written in a spare, poetic style. But it is a rich read... It is without doubt an important and courageous book

This is a remarkable novel, written with a beautiful lucidity... it is a book which achieves what imaginative literature can provide better than any art form: it makes you think and feel at the same time

An important and shocking polemic; it will outrage readers for the truths it reveals

We know so little about the day-to-day life of people in Afghanistan - and in particular its women - that glittering gems such as this ... become all the more valuable for shining a torch on a beleaguered and largely unseen existence

Her monologue is a direct attempt on the part of Rahimi to rip away the veil over Afghan women's lives... An act of political courage and a beautifully constructed, deeply memorable novella

Perfectly written

Powerful... truly an expansive work of literature

One thinks of Marguerite Duras, the plays of Sartre, the absurdity of Samuel Beckett, even of Ernest Hemingway. Strangely beautiful, poignant, by turns light and serious... The Patience Stone is one of those rare novels which make time elastic; too short, it can be read in one go, yet it never leaves you

An astonishing writer: this book is another brilliant triumph

Rich in symbolism

Atiq Rahimi's prose is spare and elegant and sporadically mutates into shards of evocative poetry. Polly McLean's translation does justice to the original French

A satisfying celebration of love lost and found

A wry satire on girlish obsession

The hugely affecting tale of a teen crush and its consequences decades later, this is a subtle and flawlessly written love story

Pearson's nostalgic narrative clearly marries the pangs of adolescence to mid-life regret. A pitch-perfect portrait of the teenage self.

Funny and poignant, it will also remind you why you'd never want to be 13 again!

Something I know I love ... Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, which I could read endlessly.

I’m bowled over, hooked and, hurrah, there are 11 more volumes to go as Jenkins grows up. Terrific.

A highly accomplished debut, this is a chilling portrait of racial tension, social immorality, betrayal and love, and also an atmospheric examination of the end of innocence.

The writing is strong and though the sections featuring Gay's earlier life lose momentum, the story picks up pace when the girls' paths become entwined and the conclusion is compelling and thrillingly macabre.

This fictional account of a true story gives a darkly shocking version of the events surrounding this tragic case.

Brilliantly melds a factual post-war murder into a dark fictional tale