Another piercing collection of short stories... Masterful

There are many novelists who write as well as Ben Okri, many who share his gift for recreating the texture of everyday life, many who can cut through the surface to expose, as he does, the myths of our elders and betters use to keep us in our place. There are very few novelists who can do all three. The fact that Ben Okri has done so in short stories, without ever losing his balance, his humour or his edge, makes his accomplishment all the more exceptional

In a few brief sentences Ben Okri captures the arrogance and faceless indifference of the military forces which patrol the margins of these stories

Stamped with the ease of a truly original imagination

Its autobiographical stories set in Japan, where she had gone to live with a Japanese lover, give off a direct and poignant emotion. They show her changing, too

Daringly and dangerously erotic, exploring the dark recesses of female sexuality

Still remarkable for their darkly allusive imagery...this collection displays the same slightly chilling morality as her early novels

A satisfying diversity of experience and insight.

Full of moments of risk, which Kennedy's characters handle self-consciously and with care... She strings lyrical sentences together effortlessly.

Beautifully crafted... It would be impossible not to admire these stories.

Kennedy dissects the small intimacies of inner thought and holds them palm-up, naked, there for our observation and evaluation. Her prose is typically direct, her sentences clear cut and yet capable of great tenderness.

Full of heartache and the ways in which we hurt each other, and ourselves... Fans of Kennedy's quirky expressionism won't be disappointed.

Evidence that, at her best, there’s no-one to touch Kennedy.

Full of challenges and beauty.

This is a sure-footed and intelligently organized collection. These small pieces encompass an extensive emotional territory

An arresting collection that blends poetic imagery, raw emotion and cerebral insight

Vivid and unsettling. Johnson’s brilliant short stories will haunt and taunt you.

Fen is uncanny and fantastic: it will be really exciting to see what Johnson does next.

An absorbing read, blending dark magical realism and social critique… The stories are made memorable by their uncanny imagery and the rich originality of the language. But a strongly conjured atmosphere is the driving force, with the damp, liminal qualities of the setting seeping into every aspect of the narratives. A brilliant debut.

Tremendously strange short stories but they stay with you.

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

A superb first novel . . . [it is] a significant achievement to produce a book of this quality . . . [there is] a wonderful sense of place.

Reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and just as ambitious

An impressive debut.

Already on the longlist for the Baileys Prize, this is an island story told in daisy-chain sequence, a series of succinct vignettes that come together as a vivid portrait of the Shore itself, until you can almost smell the salt air and the stench of slaughtered chicken.

Some extraordinary images . . . a wonderful first novel.

Taylor’s prose is dreamy and surprisingly playful.

A wonderful read.

Exuberant, magical and incredibly ambitious, but Sara Taylor pulls it off with style.

Taylor shows a special affinity with the lives of women that makes for a powerful debut