Brave and intelligent...a mesmerising work

A stunning composition of human fragility and intensity

An extraordinary dramatisation of a mind in the process of disintegration ... Brilliant - read it now, before it scoops up all the prizes

Touches a resounding chord of melancholy. The author, whose debut this is, is very talented

This is a finely written ode to memory, identity and love

a forensic examination of loss and misunderstanding, a paean to the vital force of stories, and an incredibly moving look at a sword of Damocles that hangs over us all

The imagined experience of dementia is intricately, cleverly woven

A brave, intelligent book

Harvey uses her precise and unostentatious style to full effect

A treat for literature lovers who appreciate complexity in their novels and aren't afraid to deal with tough topics

Harvey's novel bravely reimagines the horrors of Alzheimer's from within the ever-narrowing parameters of an architect's mind

Closer to Virginia Woolf's meditative novels than anything else I can think of

A forensic examination of loss and misunderstanding, a paean to the vital force of stories, and an incredibly moving look at a sword of Damocles that hangs over us all.

Harvey shows her remarkable powers of empathy and her no less remarkable literary skill. To write about a disordered mind is to court the danger of creating a work that is itself disordered. But from start to finish her control is absolute....I can think of few more distinguished literary debuts in recent years

Moving, convincing, adroit- it is a remarkably accomplished first novel and a beautiful jacket

Harvey's is certainly the outstanding fictional debut to have come my way this year

Intricately and delicately woven

Impressive first novel [which] plays some original tricks with narrative

An extremely gifted writer

Deeply original and captivating...The lyrical power of these shifting and competing narratives is matched by the absolute emotional realism of Jake's own desperate plight: his shame and anger and impotence are devastatingly recorded. And yet this is not a depressing novel, but rather one so full of urgent life that it rouses even as it terrifies.

Many novels have documented the trials of living with dementia, but this mind-bending debut throws us straight into the skewed recesses of a sufferer's brain... An exhilarating trip, but for the thought that this is a place some of us might visit one day.

Brilliantly melds a factual post-war murder into a dark fictional tale

Land of Marvels offers a fluent plot peopled by sharp, affecting characters and graced with the author's usual erudite wit and understanding humour

[a] cleverly plotted and elegantly written novel...Unsworth has evidently done a great deal of research, but this is woven seamlessly into the fabric of the novel so that the reader is caught up in the excitement of Somerville's discoveries.