A mighty literary experience

Quite simply, monumental

Quintessentail Judt: humane, fearless, unsparingly honest

The book is simultaneously awe-inspiring and almost too painful to bear... His head, that of a great historian, political writer and charismatic intellectual, was a treasure house

A book to treasure... Witty, profound, contraversial

In examining his past, Judt has managed to write what amounts to a Bildungsroman of one of the most distinctive writerly personas of the age. At the same time, he has told us something important about ourselves: about what we were and what we have become

The brilliant historian Tony Judt's posthumously published biographical essays, The Memory Chalet show what a learned, witty, subtle, and above all, civilised man we have lost

A tremendously moving memorial to a first-class historian and essayist, moving from the streets of London in the threadbare Clement Attlee years to the dining rooms of New York in the 21st century. If nothing else, Judt led a compellingly colour life...Some of the most affecting passages in this book look back to Judt's childhood, long before his academic fame and fortune. He writes beautifully about the moral and physical atmosphere of his London boyhood...This book is quintessential Judt: humane, fearless, unsparingly honest. In essay after essay the same qualities shine forth, all the more remarkable given the tragic circumstances...That he finished with such a wonderfully moving book is a mark of the man.

Judt calls these charming vignettes "feuillotons" which, without being sentimental, gives them the elegiac quality of falling autumn leaves

What razor-sharp brilliance! What sublime satirical wit!... The lives of Wolfe's seemingly unconnected cast of characters, bouncing off the pages as vividly as any of Dickens', become gradually interwoven. Wolfe takes ironic swipes at greed, class, racism from both sides of the fence and financial and political corruption... A what a wonderful way Wolfe has with dialogue and with the barbaric euphemisms of street slang and rap. Sheer genius

Novels of this size... always have flaws and the occasional lull, but Wolfe's fizzy prose and amusingly mean-spirited social observations make up for any other deficiencies. Highly entertaining

There are far too many delicious examples of Wolfe's razor sharp wit and stylish writing. So I'll simply say that if you enjoy a slice of American fiction, then this book will not disappoint. Otherwise, I'll eat my hat. A big, bold, brash, brilliant book, beautifully-written. Highly recommended

A gripping yet tender storyline that unfolds as the insurmountable obstacles are faced with bravery and loyalty. You're sure to be reaching for the tissues

A moving and disturbing tale of love and loyalty. And you might cry