Instantly ranks her among the most interesting and exciting of British writers

Fast paced and finely timed...ambitious and satisfying

Sharp and feisty...a riotous read

Seamlessly blends the sarcastic and the sincere, the comic and the tragic . . . stylish and spirited

A smashing success

A beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life… I’m amazed a novel this good escaped general attention for so long

A brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise, and elegant novel

Something rarer than a great novel -- it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away...few stories this sad could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating.

A beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself

The most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again

Unquestionably one of the finest novels of the 20th century, its genius lies in its candour and in prose that simmers with subtle intent.

The word-of-mouth hit of the summer. Read it and you’ll see why

It’s as if this novel is about all of us: our hopes, disappointments and sorrows… a lesson in values, told with love and awe

A wonderful novel, rich and sombre, a record of pain and less but also of moments of vision and tenderness... flawless

This short-but-striking novel quickly reveals itself to be…crime fiction, yes, but also a subtle and deeply introspective consideration of the inertia of lonely middle-age, its philosophy existentialist in the manner of Jean Paul Sartre, Ingmar Bergman and certain novels of Georges Simenon. The result is a highly complex and accomplished work

Intriguing tale… Solstad expertly navigates the bizarre mind of a clever but lonely man locked in an existentialist nightmare

This is no straightforward crime novel…an exploration of guilt, inaction and moral quandaries