A hell of a read - so emotionally sophisticated, so deft with shade and light, more absorbing than most fiction I've read this year

Terrific

Another gratifyingly well-put-together work... Tremain's long sentences brim with a poised positivity...[and] add lightness to her fond depictions of these imperfect strivers

Subtle, illuminating and captivating

A moving exploration of love and the sacrifices we're willing to make in its name

Over a distinguished literary career, Rose Tremain has traversed genres with her customary flair... in her portrayal of the ways in which individual longing and frustration unfold against the constraints of forces beyond our control, Tremain has long been one of our most accomplished novelists, and here is further confirmation

An exhilarating exploration of love, life, loss and death... A thrilling and seductive story... Vivid and beguiling

Rose Tremain gives Hilary Mantel a run for her money for the title of Britain's greatest living historical novelist... there are still few writers who can conjure up a version of the past that is so startlingly unfamiliar yet so convincing

An enjoyable page-turner

A new book from Rose Tremain is always a cause for celebration. Her exceptionally well-crafted and deeply humane historical novels are invariably a joy and Islands of Mercy is no exception... A rich, rewarding and highly satisfying novel from one of our finest novelists.

Vivid, transgressive, explicit and kaleidoscopic

A fabulous read

Praise for Elizabeth Noble

A moving and warm-hearted novel about love in all its forms...Nobody weaves a complex web of stories with quite the same skill as Elizabeth Noble

Witty, affectionate and unashamedly tear-jearking

Irresistible comfort read

Tissues are essential. You'll ricochet between delicately watering eyes at the romance of it all and howling sobs at the unbearable tenderness

Honest and beautifully written

Noble specialises in warm-hearted tearjerkers with strong connections between women

A moving and warm-hearted novel about love in all its forms . . . Nobody weaves a complex web of stories with quite the same skill as Elizabeth Noble

Witty, affectionate and unashamedly tear-jerking

Witty, pacy and immediately engaging

It would be a hard heart indeed that remained unmoved . . . the tender feelings that Noble engenders in her readers are to be cherished

So fluid, the pages turn themselves

Noble is a mistress of the tearjerking message of love

A confident and restrained depiction of friendship… A memorable novel.

A moving study of human emotions which will make you cry without being even slightly sentimental.

Beautifully written, this is a book to savour.

Tender yet sharp, this beautifully composed narrative explores the themes of unrequited love… Tremain has crafted a stunning and wise book that sustains its brilliance right to the end.

Captivating novel… Illuminated throughout by Tremain’s own empathy, this beautiful book holds the reader effortlessly in its thrall.

What I love about Rose Tremain is her dark elegance.

The awfulness of childhood has rarely been so beautifully caught… A deep compassion for the suffering of her characters…makes this novel a beautiful and moving work of art.

Tender new novel… Tremain details the physical toll of heartbreak and this is laced with sadness as happiness eludes. But we feel for Gustav, we want him to break free, to attain it. Crucially, through Tremain’s crafting, we have hope for him, all is not lost.

Tremain is a consummate storyteller… There are few great dramas here, just a moving study of human emotions that’s full of compassion for even its most unappealing characters’

Turns the unpromising complexities of Swiss neutrality into something more captivating… Tremain plays clever variations on the ideas of distancing and self-denial.

A perceptive and beautifully realized novel of unrequited and misplaced love… A vivid book, alive with different kinds of passion… Written with immense tenderness, and is often extremely funny.

[A] perfect gem of a novel.

Powerfully subtle look at love and rejection in the shadow of war.

Assured and skilfully executed - I loved it

A chilling tale.

This is a perfect novel about life’s imperfection… The narrative skill and subtlety are exemplary… Writing at the height of her inimitable powers. Without giving away the ending, she has the most merciful, believable and uplifting surprise in store.

Elegant

Tremain is a writer of exemplary vision and particularity. The fictional world is rendered with extraordinary vividness.

Her novels combine insight, elegance and sensuality – and this latest is no exception… It’s enthralling and at times exquisitely sad.

[A] superb new novel… She has the writerly gift of conveying tenderness by what she leaves unsaid. A composition spanning 1939 to 2002, The Gustav Sonata will surely move you to melancholy - as, indeed, does all great music’

A shrewd study of neutrality, political and personal.

I loved Rose Tremain’s The Gustav Sonata… The layers of story are engrossing and beautifully put together. A novel to savour and reread.

I find her writing very evocative and lacking in the self-indulgence that many successful novelists tend to develop… Absorbing and compelling.

Tremain was on top form with her nuanced analysis of emotional and political neutrality, The Gustav Sonata.

[A] moving and finely crafted novel about youth and friendship.

A compelling read.

I feel these characters will remain with me for a long time.

Tremain’s finest work yet.

Tremain’s sympathetic and perceptive treatment of her characters probes the essence of human relationships.

The Gustav Sonata is a powerful, profound and unexpected love story about the enduring damage of unrequited love. It is a masterful, meditative novel.

It is a story of betrayal… A moving, human and memorable novel.

The novel powerfully explores the implications of a country’s quest for neutrality as well as an individual’s quest for self-mastery, touching upon the difficulties and social tensions that may arise.

Captivating.

I was totally engrossed by this beautiful novel about life’s imperfection