Author:Adam Thorpe
Two Cambridge academics, the historians Nick and Sarah Mallinson, take a sabbatical with their three small and lively girls in a remote Languedoc farmhouse. But the farmhouse contains its own histories, far darker and murkier than the Mallinsons are used to dealing with. As the illusion of Eden retreats, the couple begin to feel the vulnerability of being among strangers...
Superior novel...wincingly precise in his imagery and technically adept... An electric and darkly gleeful read
—— Daily MailAn immensely clever, tragicomic novel...a rich meditation on past and present colonial politics... What resonates for me is what I greatly admire in all Thorpe's work: the complex depth, and the texture and poetry of his storytelling language
—— Financial TimesAn intimate depiction of family life... Vivid and luminous
—— Independent on SundayBecause this is Adam Thorpe, there are only two things you know for certain: that the writing will be gorgeous, silky-smooth; and that the plot will be entirely original, defying categorisation...enjoy
—— Sunday TelegraphAn intricate fiction which reminds us gently that war wrecks lives in ways too tangled to anticipate
—— Times Literary SupplementThe plot is terrific and the pace fast and furious...A terrific story told by a master storyteller
—— Historical Novels ReviewGrimly, intelligently comic as if written by an Asian Joseph Heller
—— Daily TelegraphIf this rich stew of disparate ingredients puts you in mind of Salman Rushdie, you wouldn't be far from the truth. His work, along with that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Joseph Heller, is a low-key but persistent influence
—— Sunday TimesAn exciting, accomplished new literary voice
—— Irish TimesA very funny satire-cum-thriller
—— Sally Cousins , Sunday Telegraph SevenSomewhere in mid-air between Waugh and Rushdie (with an shade of Catch 22 hovering near by) this tremendous novel makes a tragicomic weather all its own
—— Boyd Tonkin , The IndependentJustly Booker longlisted last year, this debut is a dazzling one-off
—— Hermione Eyre , The ObserverProvocative and comic debut.
—— The TimesA true touch of originality ... showcases a promising new talent.
—— Colin Waters , Sunday HeraldDry, droll and insightful
—— The IndependentBodice-ripping romp through the West
—— TimesMissy by Strong and memorable female characters throughout this enjoyable novel
—— http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpackWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny
—— Arabella WeirThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper
—— Hugh LaurieThe greatest comic writer ever
—— Douglas AdamsP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century
—— Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius
—— Ben Elton