Full of bittersweet Christmas moments. A real gem.

These stories are heartwarming.

Joyce is warm and very funny, and she has a merciless eye for those nightmare moments when weaknesses are exposed and everything is called into question.

The perfect tonic for tinsel-itis, [A Snow Garden] is laced with quietly devastating observations on love and marriage.

As sparkling and Christmassy as a selection box.

Rachel Joyce is one of the most sensitive but forensic archaeologists of everyday life. A Snow Garden is a powerful collection of loosely connected Christmas tales .. acutely observed. As many people reach panic mode, they will be a gentle reminder of what really matters at this time of year.

Each of these Christmas stories has wit and charm and holds a quirky surprise

The perfect tonic for tinsel-itis, it’s laced with quietly devastating observations on love and marriage.

her first collection of stories; each has a wintry warmth, and the lightness of touch and emotional depth that marks all of Joyce’s work. Need another reason to get hold of it? It’s a beautiful little book, too, perfect to discover under wrapping paper and ribbon

IF you are on the hunt for a festive read that completely encapsulates the magic of Christmas without even a smidgen of schmaltz then Rachel Joyce’s new collection of short stories is just what you are looking for. These seven tales, which are cleverly interlinked, are set over a two-week period during Christmas and New Year....There is a sprinkling of otherworldliness that gives them a truly magical feel. This is the perfect book to curl up with in front of the fire this Christmas. The stories may be short but the emotional impact lasts long after you’ve finished the last page.

This collection compellingly captures what Joyce excels in evoking throughout her writing - the intimations of new beginnings in even the most painful ending.

Every word the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry writes is a bittersweet dream. Christmas music, drunken Santas and unrealistic expectations are all on the menu in these linked stories that stretch from the last day of school term all the way through to New Year’s Eve. There’s even a donkey and a baby…

Joyce is warm and very funny, and she has a merciless eye for those nightmare moments when weaknesses are exposed and everything is called into question

A collection of domestic, family tales, looping themselves warmly around Christmas rituals ... Heart-warming

Ferris' characters may be flawed, but his writing is flawless

Each of these stories is a well-crafted, tightly wound piece of short fiction that often springs with a delightful, sometimes moving precision

Ferris wittily skewers both middle-class social life, and its would-be dissenters. He has a brilliantly sharp eye for the manners and mores of 21st-century metropolitan society, and is a master of discomfort. . . Like F Scott Fitzgerald before him, Joshua Ferris shines an unforgiving light on the jittery pursuit of happiness, and 'the growing anxiety of never arriving at what was always just out of reach'

At turns arresting and hilarious. Ferris excavates relationships, interactions, missteps, and misunderstandings to form a collection of work you'll want to return to again and again

Most of the characters are comparatively sane, but no less deliciously ghastly

Anxiety, self-consciousness and humiliation are the default inner states of the characters in these 11 stories

A strange, fantastical squelch through watery East Anglia...one of the most impressive collections of short stories in recent years

An undeniably enjoyable dose of escapism

Mark Haddon has become a master of the short story…this new collection intrigues and horrifies by turn

Gripping tale… Told with forensic precision.

Exuberant, lusty exercises in juxtaposition… Such contrasts not only power each piece but also act as a form of call and response across them… Terrifically compelling collection.

Impressive but forbiddingly lightless collection. There’s no doubt about Haddon’s skill.

Have you ever read a book that made you gasp out loud and nearly burst into tears? The title story…had that effect on me… Haddon is able to give human tragedy the due solemnity it deserves but without being po-faced. A wonderful collection.

Guaranteed to keep me riveted.

Gripping… Packs the action and themes that might power a very full novel into less than 70 pages

Scintillating first foray into the shorter form… Beautifully crafted… A challenging and idiosyncratic talent, with a memorable way with words.

[Haddon] portrays the nightmares of our own society…with astonishing deftness, mixing black humour and pathos.

The Pier Falls had me gasping in disbelief.

[It was] grim and compelling… [A] ripping, gripping yarn – narrative velcro.

I savoured all the atmospheric short stories in The Pier Falls.

An enthralling short story collection; dark, immersive stories with lots of action. The writing is tight and inspiring.

[A] searing collection of short stories that thrill and chill in equal measure.

I was also captivated by the dark A Pier Falls, a brilliantly written collection of bleak and brutal short stories.

I adored The Pier Falls… Each story is wildly entertaining and well written.

[It] proves the capacity of a short story to immerse the reader fully in a fictional world.

This short-story collection is thrilling and exquisitely written. I gave out several copies as Christmas presents.

An exquisite writer.

Mesmerisingly good stories, hugely varied, skilfully written, full of deft touches and narrative shocks... an absolute treat