Novel of the year is My Coney Island Baby, by Billy O’Callaghan, a lush, precise, poetic account of a love affair that ends the way most love affairs do. We knew O’Callaghan to be a master of the short story, and here he shows the grand reach of his powers as a novelist.

Billy O’Callaghan’s new novel grips from the opening page. The stride of his sentences is long and powerful, his vision raw. A spectrum of intensities from grief to love is revealed as relationships unfold with an honesty that is utterly believable.

O’Callaghan [has made a] significant achievement in this fine novel… Good books remind us of other good books and in its treatment of adultery this one calls to mind thematic ancestors such as Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina and The Scarlet Letter.

A poignant, piercing meditation on middle age and the passing of time… these characters will linger with you long after the book is closed.

Quiet, subtle and deeply moving… This is a fine novel, with elegance and wisdom lying beneath an unpretentious surface and O’Callaghan, a gifted writer, has managed to do that most difficult of things: take a quiet, almost everyday story and transform it into a thing of beauty.

[My Coney Island Baby] is the story of two ordinary people trapped in their ordinary lives. But in the hands of O’Callaghan it is magnified to the truly extraordinary. A great tragedy. I long thought Anita Brookner the high priestess when it comes to telling the tales of loneliness and defeat. But she’s now got company.

My Coney Island Baby is that rare thing: a love story that manages to be romantic and realistic… Billy O’Callaghan describes their love with a truthfulness that is often heart-rending... [his writing] demands to be taken slowly and savoured.

One of the finest Irish fictions of last year.

Billy O’Callaghan’s work is at once subtle and direct, warm and clear-eyed, and never less than beautifully written. He has a moving ability to express the hopes and fears of “ordinary” people, and he knows intimately the ways of the world. He richly deserves an international reputation. This writer is the real thing.

A welcome voice to the pantheon of new Irish writing.

Intensely romantic… [Billy O’Callaghan] is a writer who has an unyielding faith in the strength and vitality of language to convey the emotions and the physical world. In this sense, he is old-fashioned, straight out of the much-neglected D.H. Lawrence school of writing… he is also a writer who knows how to control his characters, his narrative, and… his voice. That’s what counts, and it’s what makes My Coney Island Baby such a good novel.

With poeticism and aching sensitivity, O’Callaghan unknots the minute workings of these starved adulterous souls… images rendered here stick with you, such is the intensity that they shimmer with.

A tender, slow-burning depiction of love. This is a powerful must-read.

Like a modern-day Lady Chatterley's Lover... There is much to savour in [My Coney Island Baby].

Imbued with poignancy and portent… [My Coney Island Baby] is redolent of Bernard MacLaverty’s The Bleak Midwinter, with its dissection of a relationship, and the weight, physical and otherwise, of growing old.

[O’Callaghan’s] narrative skilfully zooms in and out, circulating from their Coney Island hotel room to the lives they have left behind.

Vividly rendered… O’Callaghan excels at painting a portrait of physical and emotional isolation.

[O'Callaghan's] writing is just gorgeous.

A wise, tender, and exquisitely tuned novel about the end of a love affair in middle age. O’Callaghan’s style is rich and sonorous, and he surveys his characters’ ageing bodies and dwindling horizons with a dauntless eye, yet with such compassion that the final effect is to enhance their dignity.

An idiosyncratic, bittersweet coming-of-age tale that certainly justifies its title

THIS BOOK. Reader, I LOVED it. Funny & thoughtful & such brilliantly drawn characters I am genuinely bereft that my time with them is over. And it tackles some REALLY important issues with immense sensitivity & insight

Rejoice! Marian's back with her best book yet! An absolutely brilliant story with a very powerful emotional punch

At times heart-warming, at other times heartbreaking . . . This highly entertaining book is frustratingly hard to put down and can be easily devoured over a weekend

A new book from the witty Irish novelist. When Cara Casey suffers concussion, she starts spilling the secrets of her glamorous, talented family. All is not as it seems

Sensitive, funny, wonderful, immensely touching

Immersive... I absolutely loved it!

Grown Ups is perfection. Smart, dark, layered. Her best yet!

Marian Keyes's gift for storytelling is utterly magnificent. I feel like I've met every single character in this book. I may even be a character in this book. Nobody nails chaotic families like Marian

She's only gone and done it again! I love Marian Keyes' books with a passion and now she's got a fabulous new one on the way! Brilliant as ever

It's a page-turner you won't be able to put down

Marian Keyes manages to wrap family dynamics, female angst, good jokes and serious stuff into a really appealing form

Marian Keyes is back with a witty and dramatic story about the Caseys, a family who seem perfect on the surface but hold some big secrets between them. When one of them starts to spill the truth after suffering concussion, things start to unravel in hilarious ways

Happy making with glorious wit

This has the ingredients of the best of Keyes: great characters, laughs and poignancy. Keyes brilliantly captures that feeling of never quite being a grown-up, no matter your age

We've heard whispers that this could be the much-loved author's best novel yet

The irresistible tale of an enviably glamorous family forced to confront itself

Tackling the realities of modern-day consumerism, Keyes' new book Grown Ups is the story of three brothers and their families written with her usual deft mix of witty storytelling and delicate touchpoint topics. It's brilliant so read it

The queen of the classy comfort read returns with this warm, wise and witty family saga which asks what really lies behind the happiest of facades

A family drama, where a concussion causes a spilling of secrets with amusing results

A new Keyes is always cause for celebration. The wit and warmth of her words in her 14th novel tell the story of the Caseys, a supposedly perfect family, torn apart by a careless remark at a birthday party

Marian Keyes is back and all is right with the world. No one mixes humour and heartbreak quite like Marian

The latest novel from the beloved Irish author, Grown Ups delves into the Casey family whose secrets start to spill after one member gets concussed

This is vintage Keyes

Grown Ups is big-hearted and entertaining, a dark, funny and empathetic exploration of a dysfunctional family and the loving ties that bind them together

A new novel by Marian Keyes is always cause for celebration, and this latest is a corker. By the end you'll definitely feel part of the family

No one knows better than Marian Keyes what it's like trying to be a grown up in modern Ireland. Keyes is on top form as ever, and this delightful book will warm those cold winter bones

A heartening, pacey read

Smart, savvy and very funny, Keyes takes the pulse of the nation while simultaneously tickling its funny bone

Promises themes of love and family, all bound together with Keyes' trademark humour

A hilarious read

Bursting with wit and compassion. Grown ups is as alive, complicated and chaotic as any real-life family, evoking extraordinary tenderness, pain and humour.

The queen of fiction has launched another blockbuster. I couldn't put this book down

Chuck envy, illicit passion and financial pressures into the pot and soon this carefully constructed broth is simmering to the boil

Funny, clever and hilarious and the rest, an epic tale of an epic family, the Caseys

A wonderful story, filled with heartbreak, empathy and Keyes's trademark humour . . . You'll laugh, cry, and might even have your heart broken, but it's definitely worth it

A funny and thoughtful read

Up there with her best

A fabulous account of family and secrets, calling into question how civilised and "grown up" any of us actually are

A fabulous account of family and secrets

Marian Keyes nails the zeitgeist while handling a huge cast of characters with aplomb

The absolute queen of astute, moving and cracking-good-fun contemporary fiction returns

Dazzlingly brilliant

Brilliant as ever

It's everything you could want in a Keyes book - funny, warm, tender and a complete page turner

A witty and compassionate story of modern life and relationships

An entertaining, sharp read that peels back the layers and nuances which shape the realities of family life and being an adult. Humorous, heart-warming and relatable

Packed with emotional turmoil, but is light on her trademark wry wit and acerbic humour

Keyes touches on the difficulties of broken relationships; eating disorders; emotional insecurity and other weighty subjects with her trademark humour and lightness of touch

Our Marian is back! And Grown Ups is one of her best yet, creating another memorable family saga

Brilliantly plotted family saga

A warm-hearted and wise tale of a family in trouble. Packed full of sharp observations and laugh-out-loud lines

Her writing just gets better and better . . . Grown Ups is funny and clever in the way it tackles addiction and eating disorders and the hurly burly of family life

A sharp satire of family dynamics and the trappings of wealth. It is a delicious thing - light and dark at once, full of acid observations and warmth, and fully attuned to the absurdities of familial life

An entertaining story of family dynamics packed with vibrant characters, humour and empathy

A sharp, wry tale about a seemingly happy family with contemporary problems . . . despite the traumas, you'll whizz through it with a smile on your face

Keyes's captivating 14th novel tackles difficult issues with a sparkling style that makes it impossible to put down

Marian Keyes is the most wonderful writer. She just gets better and better. She is a writer who believes in the best of us. She shows people's foibles but she also shows the love that binds us together in a very real way

Her novels tackle hard subjects with such humour and warmth its impossible not to be drawn in

Another high-definition family comedy. An intoxicating, effervescent and warm look at modern life

A delightful and insightful examination of the modern family

Laughter and tears intertwine, as ever, in the latest from our leading chronicler of the emotional messiness of contemporary life

The strength of this book lies in its relatability factor - I laughed, cried, nodded in recognition and laughed again

Shines a light on the frustrations and gripes of family life, while inviting us to laugh at the petty reality of it all

A book to fall into and while away hours with

Funny, thought-provoking and hitting you right in the feels, Marian Keyes does it again

I loved this complex family drama . . . Keyes nails every character she touches while keeping it all so relevant

Praise for Marian Keyes

Mercilessly funny

Everything this woman touches turns to comic gold

Comic, convincing and true. The warmth and empathy of Keyes's writing shine through this tale of family secrets revealed.

Clever, hilarious, poignant . . . Gloriously funny

Wildly funny, romantic and nearly impossible to put down

Her writing is a lovely mixture of funny and perceptive and bittersweet

Full of brilliantly funny characters, genuine emotion and heaps of charm

Her books are humorous and have the quality of a warm bath

Classic Marian Keyes: a blizzard of wit and wisecracks

Keyes is an international treasure. The ultimate choice for a binge read

When it comes to writing page-turners that put a smile on your face and make you think, Keyes is in a class of her own

Fabulously entertaining. The queen of intelligent women's fiction

Full of darkness and light, this is Keyes at her classic and most brilliant best

Keyes writes about women who are absolutely themselves, even when society tries to insist they are something else

Glorious, life-affirming

Marian's glorious, warm-hearted wit is always guaranteed to make me laugh on the very first page

There is no finer writer than Marian Keyes

She really is unparalleled when it comes to making serious points with the lightest of touches

Hilariously wise

Brutal yet endearing honesty, wonderful humour and astonishing acumen

Keyes writes extremely well about modern women. Candid and deeply felt

Marian Keyes has an unparalleled talent for making you howl with laughter, nod in recognition and think at the same time

Always brilliant - and brilliantly funny

A publishing sensation

There are few fiction writers today with as much verve and sense of independence as Marian Keyes