Exceedingly stylish and entertaining novel. The ability to combine the serious with the comic so adroitly is rare and admirable.

Anita Desai's most subtle and mature work to date... She retains an unforced and powerful ease in conveying the colour and sounds and sensations of Indian life.

A wry, gently humorous novel, full of wisdom and restraint... The author chronicles India lovingly but it would be a mistake to think of her simply as an Indian writer, for her themes are universal

Tough, bloodthirsty, sexually explicit US serial killer tale . . . one hell of a read, though not for the squeamish

Steve Earle writes like a shimmering neon angel

Snapshots of brilliance

The former junkie and 'hardcore troubadour' has fought his demons and found God. Now he wants to show us how it's done

Earle seems to have little trouble expanding his range from a three-minute song to a 300-page narrative... And though the novel comes no closer to establishing the facts of Hank Williams's death, it certainly reveals a good deal of truth behind it

A witty, heartfelt story of hope, forgiveness and redemption