Author:John Steinbeck
THE PEARL is Steinbeck's flawless parable about wealth and the evil it can bring. When Kino, an Indian pearl-diver, finds 'the Pearl of the world' he believes that his life will be magically transformed. He will marry Juana in church and their little boy, Coyotito, will be able to attend school. Obsessed by his dreams, Kino is blind to the greed, fear and even violence the pearl arouses in him and his neighbours. Haunting and lyrical, THE PEARL sets the values of the civilized world against those of the primitive and finds them tragically inadequate.
It is a wonderfully happy book.
—— GuardianThis light-hearted romp is delightfully witty, packed with puns and boasts a few phrases that Wodehouse himself would have deemed top-hole. Splendid stuff.
—— Sunday MirrorThe finished product resembles, in all but cover, a traditional Wodehousian yarn. Harking back to the summer of 1926, it is a gentle, jolly tale – of farce and mistaken identity, of love lost and found, of cricket matches, village fetes and the eccentric upper classes.
—— TelegraphAt two memorable moments in Jeeves and the Wedding Bells I did indeed laugh until I cried… Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a masterpiece… This is a pitch-perfect undertaking: proof, almost a century after his debut, that Jeeves may not be so inimitable after all.
—— SpectatorThe plot is satisfyingly convoluted in the best Wodehouse tradition . . . A genuine addition to my growing Wodehouse collection and there is no higher tribute.
—— Daily ExpressHe catches the Wodehousean idiom, periphrasis, surreal similes and bally silliness to a T, all done with love. Please commission a dozen more, Hutchinson.
—— Literary ReviewFrom the first page of Sebastian Faulks’s entirely delightful book . . . we are transported to Wodehouse land. All the details, of plot, of character, and of setting, are lovingly drawn. The hours spent reading Jeeves and the Wedding Bells are pure pleasure.
—— Financial TimesFaulks has caught the mood and the dialogue perfectly
—— Sunday ExpressThe plot is just as twisty and absurd as you’d want . . . Credit to old Faulks. I’d like to see someone try to do this better.
—— ObserverI was soon laughing out loud and occasionally forgetting this wasn’t the real thing . . . this is a top-hole treat.
—— Mail on SundayHeartbreakingly good stuff - just be sure to stock up on tissues
—— Fabulous Magazine , The Sun on SundayHankies ready for the gorgeous, way-weepie tale of a dying mum who makes a scrapbook of memories for her family to remember her by. The multiple points of view layer in the emotion beautifully. 4 Stars.
—— Star Magazine , Star Magazineheartbreaking yet uplifting
—— All About Soap Magazine , All About Soap MagazineThis is a heart-rending story, but it's also completely absorbing, uplifting, tender, sad and wise
—— Francesca Cookney , The Sunday MirrorAn absolutely beautiful, stunningly written story - you HAVE to read The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman!
—— Miranda DickinsonWritten with great tenderness, The Memory Book manages to be heartbreakingly sad yet uplifting too. You'll hold your loved ones that little bit closer after reading this novel. I absolutely loved it!
—— Lucy DiamondThe Memory Book is warm, sad, and life-affirming, with an unforgettable heroine who will make you laugh and cry. It's a tender book about treasuring the past and living fully in the present; you'll finish it and immediately go give your loved ones a hug.
—— Julie CohenYou'd think a novel about early onset Alzheimers would be miserable and maudlin but this book is beautiful, touching, warm and life-affirming.
—— C L TaylorOne of my favourite writers
—— Cara DelevingneThis is classic Murakami, an isolated character struggling to make his way through a world both deceptively simple and utterly fantastical, his story told through prose infused with all the beauty and meaning of a Kyoto tea ceremony
—— Freya McClements , Irish TimesHis versatility and ability to craft a story is spellbinding… Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a fine story that held my attention until the end.
—— Yomi Segun Steven , NudgeLoneliness, sexual ambiguity and emotional repression- the perfect recipe for a novel that put Murakami back on my list of unputdownable authors
—— John Kampfner , ObserverKafkaesque, unusual and packed with sex and confusion, this is high-end prose… Murakami is remarkably prolific… A weird and very wonderful descent into the madness of contemporary Tokyo.
—— Paul Critcher , GeographicalBeautifully told with pared-down emotional honesty, this 13th novel from the Booker Prize-winner is fiercely clever and incredibly moving.
—— Hello!A gripping new novel which brings into question morality, religion and the very nature of life itself.
—— Hunts PostMcEwan masterfully weaves a gripping personal story.
—— Peter Donaldson , Gazette (Colchester)I feel that both Fiona and the boy somehow sort of transcended naturalistic character
—— Mark Ravenhill , Saturday ReviewEmotionally wrenching and visceral.
—— ElleGripping.
—— Mail on SundayA short novel of great subtlety and tenderness.
—— UK Human RightsExecuted in his trademark elegant prose and is evidently meticulously researched.
—— Carla McKay , Daily MailIncredibly moving, intriguing and quite perfect as piece of fiction.
—— Bath ChronicleYet another worthy addition to his canon.
—— EasyJet TravellerThe small morning scenes between husband and wife are superb.
—— Catholic HeraldMoving, sad and delicate.
—— Joanna Kavenna , ProspectTrue to life [as well as] being well-written.
—— Catherine Taylor, family solicitor , Latest HomesVery deft, urgent and morally plangent.
—— Lewis Jones , OldieImpeccably crafted.
—— Stephanie Cross , LadyThe Children Act is in part a tribute to the best of the legal profession and, as a wordsmith, his deep respect for the best of their prose… The book has some landmark McEwan features of skillfully created tension.
—— LancetHe offers the reader a masterful study of a mind devoted to fairness… The Children Act is also a fascinating, painstakingly researched look inside the judicial process… Conveyed in crisp prose, this attention to detail elevates the moral conundrums…beyond the sensationalism lesser authors might have pursued. It is, in all respects, a novel that is carefully judged.
—— Irish ExaminerIt explores the tension between cool-headed secularism and ardent belief. It is at times preposterous – and yet it has a magical readability and is slender enough to read in one intense, absorbing sitting.
—— Jason Cowley , New StatesmanIn typical McEwan style, The Children Act is unputdownable and hauntingly beautiful.
—— Sushmita Bose , Khaleej TimesThe Children Act is a…sophisticated exploration of how society treats children and how children’s welfare can be considered in the complex world in which we live, where issues about how children should be raised are not subject to consensus.
—— Carol Storer , Legal ActionIf you have any unanswered letters on your desk, McEwan’s latest will have you grabbing your pen pronto.
—— IndependentThe Children Act shows McEwan as a master of fiction who strives to teach us how to live.
—— Olivia Cole , GQ Magazine UKPowerful and moving.
—— Sir David Bell , Times Higher EducationTaut, sparing and effortless, this is another exquisitely wrought novel from the master of the novella.
—— Good Book GuideA subtly musical arrangement of urgently topical issues…it may be read at a sitting, but resonates for much longer.
—— Lewis Jones , SpectatorIt’s absorbing and, almost a novella, it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
—— Nick Bevan , Times Higher EducationDefinitely one of the best books I have read this year.
—— Natalie K. Watson , Church TimesThis is a wonderful read with sharp, crystalline prose and, together with a superb moral dilemma, this is a beautiful and moving story.
—— Bath ChronicleOffering a window into a compelling world of life or death dilemmas, this is told in prose as polished as you’d expect.
—— Daily MailThe book is bursting of beautiful writing. You’ll want to read it all over again.
—— Kirsty Brimelow , The TimesA story of human behavior told in a raw, uncluttered, unforgiving way.
—— Cambridge NewsRenowned author McEwan manages to surprise throughout this book, right to the last page.
—— Mayfair MagazineA story of human behavior told in a raw, uncluttered, unforgiving way – and we could all have done with another couple of hundred pages.
—— Cambridge MagazineMcEwan writes in taut, sparing and effortless prose.
—— Good Book GuideIan McEwan writes stories of exquisite precision and clarity. This one is ace.
—— William Leith , Evening StandardA page-turning novel
—— John Koski , Mail on SundayAs one has come to expect, McEwan sets up the moral issues with delicacy and precision.
—— John Sutherland , The TimesIan McEwan is at his most compelling with the story of Fiona Maye… Awesome
—— Marcus Field , IndependentA wonderfully readable and thought-provoking book
—— Kathryn Atkins , Bristol MagazineA short novel that will linger in your mind for a long time
—— Woman’s WeeklyAnother beautifully written masterpiece
—— Beyondrelevant, emotive, moving, this is beautifully written and a guaranteed page turner
—— Matthew Smith , H EditionOne of our best authors at his best.
—— Murray Neil , Hertfordshire LifeOne of my favourite authors… McEwan’s fascination with judicial issues, with music and poetry, and with the moral conundrum of how far you place your religious beliefs above the life of someone you love, all feature in this book which will leave you thinking long after you have finished it.
—— Frances Colville , Frost MagazineIt's an enjoyable and often surprising novella.
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Daily ExpressIt asks fundamental questions in a sober, intelligent way about the choices we make and our blindness when it comes to our beliefs.
—— Francois Ozon, film-maker , ObserverHere he is again: vulnerable, insightful, passionate and utterly in control. He’s amazing.
—— Robert Webb , Mail on Sunday