If Russo's books possessed only their big-hearted, endlessly revisitable characters, that would be enough. That they also possess belting story lines about broken families, comically recalcitrant pensioners, small-town decay and the indelibility of roots sometimes seems like an act of unparalleled literary generosity

Perhaps if it was pointed out that here was a US writer who stood somewhere between Anne Tyler at her darkest and Russell Banks, with an occasional hint of Richard Ford at his least bleak, perhaps Russo would become as widely read as he deserves to be

No one writing today catches the detail of life with such stunning accuracy

Charms readers with its humour and refreshes with it's vast, Dickensian cast of characters

Russo proves himself a master at evoking the sights, feelings and smells of a town... Superbly original and maliciously funny

Everything that Colette touched became human

This most French of all French writers . . . One thinks of her as the female voice of Paris . . . It's as if all the house fronts of Paris were cut away and we could see men and women talking, dressing, brooding, loving

Tender, taut, full of insight, yet with a darkness at its centre

Alexi Zentner has created a seminal poetic story that resonates in our collective memory of timber, minerals and snow; of ghosts and gods and death; but above all, reminds us of the faith and love and optimism necessary for survival.

Touch is one of those rare novels that simultaneously takes hold of both your imagination and your heart and does not let go. In sharp, startling prose, Alexi Zenter seamlessly weaves the story of Sawgamet and its inhabitants, creating a world of myth and magic, hard truths, aching loss, and spectacular triumphs. It's a gem of a book.

A fantastic story set on the margins of the northern forest, Touch explores the mystery that connects the heart of the wild with human passion. This is a tale of extremes, both marvellous and magical...in the midst of brothels, prospectors, lumberjacks, ghosts, obliterating snowstorms and devastating fires, Zentner strings memory in grave rhythmns, making the sound of love. A beautiful first novel.

Calling up both the brutal conditions...and the tough men who wrestled with them, Zentner tells a lyrical tale conveying both the beauty and the danger of the wilderness.

Alexi Zentner's debut novel is poised to be one of those books that gets people talking... The story is slippery and complex, but told with seemingly effortless ease. Touch is indeed a gem of a book.

Zentner excels in evoking the place and details of domestic life

Touch is Zenter's first novel. It is an enchanting phantasmagoria of the imagination as well as a practical tale of the human lust for gold and the human struggle with implacable nature. All in all, a deeply satisfying read

Truly magical

An affecting debut from a major new talent.

In this sweeping family saga, Zentner delves into the heart of myth and memory. Eerie and beautiful, Touch is a love-song to the power - and brevity - of dreams.