The first great book of the decade

A stunner, an unnerving portrait of a man stripped of civilization's defences

A writer almost uniquely in tune with modern life . . . Ferris's flashes of brilliance are many

Original, affecting. An almost unbearable love story, between remissions of intense connection and the human inevitability of parting, between the haven of marriage and all that lies beyond

At once riveting, horrifying and deeply sad. Fiction with the force of an avalanche, snowballing unstoppably

Hugely readable, engaging, original. What an imagination - and what a memorable conceit

As hard to pin down as its hero, yet as readable as The Corrections

Immensely readable, a grand American novel

Seizes readers by the lapels with a story that feels serious and mysterious ... He has teased ordinary circumstances into something extraordinary, which is exactly what we want our fiction writers to do

Ferris writes hauntingly on the fragility of our minds and on the compulsions that drive us, despite our best intentions

Brave and masterful. A writer of the first order

An accomplished and daring work

Faulks's most vivid character is the odious John Veals, a hedge-fund manager, who relishes all the money that he makes and the power that he quietly exerts... Veals is brilliantly insidious... A thoughtful page-turner... The handsome sunset is heavily, and rightly, weighed down by dark clouds

A tragedy at sea, a miracle on paper... Moore offers us, elegantly, exultantly, the very consciousness of her characters. In this way, she does more than make us feel for them. She makes us feel what they feel, which is the point of literature and maybe even the point of being human.

This mesmerising book is full of tears, and is a graceful meditation on how to survive life's losses

Fans of Anita Shreve and Anne Enright will love this

The gentle, meandering pace of this exquisitely expresses the agony of grief and the confusions and complexities of parental love

Moore's portrayal of loss is remarkably real

Profoundly moving, beautifully written book

A marvellous book

A perfectly pitched novel that captures its characters and their dilemmas.

Lose yourself in a fantastical gastronomical journey ... This novel explores familial love in an unexpected way, and you'll be hooked from the first taste

This emotional and moving tale blew us away with its beauty

It's as beautiful as it is strange. Bender writes such lyrical sentences, you pause over them in wonder. She has an unusual take on life; and makes even the ordinary extraordinary. It's a compulsive page turner. This book is already a best seller in America, and has been embraced by book clubs. I loved it. It's one of those books you don't want to finish - and even when you have - it stays in your mind. Bender has written three previous novels. I intend to savour them all

This novel, in the style of stories like Chocolat, is a dreamy feast of gorgeous writing ... Gently, beautiful, odd, this is a story to sip and savour

An intriguing premise for an original novel about a family and its relationships

Moving and highly original, this book will make you look at food in a whole new light