It's impossible to fully comprehend the emotional impact of combat without having lived it. But reading The Centurions is a pretty good substitute

A spare, beautiful novel, so deeply about America and the language of America that its sentences seem to rise up from the earth itself. Laird Hunt had me under his spell from the first word of Neverhome to the last. Magnificent

Neverhome is a wondrous feat. Few novels written in English approach its linguistic verve

The Civil War has given us so many great literary works that I couldn't have imagined a new fictional approach that was both stunningly original and yet utterly natural, even inevitable. But this is just what Laird Hunt brilliantly delivers in his new novel. The key is his central character: in her voice, her personality, her yearning, she deeply touches our shared and enduring humanity. Neverhome is masterful work by one of our finest writers

With nothing but the simple language of well-worn words, Mr Hunt has conjured up a wholly original heroine with an utterly fresh voice... A book that deserves a wider readership.

Hunt brings an especially bittersweet and lyrical tone to this forgotten part of Civil War history and gives to several hundred women who did indeed make the momentous decision to fight….An amazing book

An exquisitely wrought vision of the terrible ravages of war - on the land, on the human body, and on the mind

This is a slim and unshowy story of devastating power, an epic poem in its own vernacular, an upside-down Odyssey at once particular and hauntingly universal. Quietly, relentlessly, without wasting a word, it works its way under the skin and into the marrow of the bones... Hunt has coaxed a brilliant and breathtaking blaze of a novel.

Staggering... he reinvigorates the American language with a poetic urgency equal to Toni Morrison’s Beloved. The story is strong, the prose superbly wrought.

A beguiling and evocative story about love and loss, duty and deceit... Neverhome took me on a journey so thoroughly engrossed that there were times the pages seemed to turn themselves.

Original, powerful writing

This book casts such an intoxicating spell…that its end comes as a cold shock… This is an alluring novel with a stubbornly enduring afterlife

One of the strengths of this compelling novel…is its blend of realism with a powerful sense of the folklore around women who defy the expectations of the societies in which they find themselves

Neverhome is a memorable evocation of a life twisted out of shape by violence and cruelty

The ending is in equal parts surprising and satisfying… I was left wanting more from this entrancing novel. Ash is a thoroughly compelling narrator and Neverhome a dark gem of a book

It’s a fascinating slant on history. I am looking forward to reading Neverhome again at a more leisurely pace to savour the language and larger-than-life characters

[Neverhome] is a remarkable achievement. You awake from it as you would from a nightmare — sadder, wiser — knowing that war makes a nest inside you; fear unpicks the soul. And if you return from it intact, you bring it with you

Gritty, lyrical and compelling

Hunt’s ability to render real events in a fictional form…shouldn’t be underestimated. He pitches his story perfectly, making Constance/Gallant Ash a rounded and psychologically convincing character. His depictions of battle scenes and a landscape ripped apart by war are also striking and authentic.

It’s hard for me to believe that this amazing, touching book is a debut novel. Absolutely recommend and already on the run for a spot in my top 10.

It is a powerful read; you can almost see the endless mud of the trenches, and sense the fear of those young men.

Anna Hope wove her spell and managed to conjure up an intriguing tale, quite rich with emotion that held me entranced until the last page. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Wake is a brilliant debut novel, deeply moving, well-plotted and engrossing.

This is such a brilliant book; one that is both beautifully written and emotionally involving, with a fascinating plot and wonderful characters who pluck at your heartstrings on every page.

I have no doubt that Wake is going to be included in my Top Ten books of 2014, I know that it's only January, but this is a book that has had a huge effect on me.

The only regret I have is that I didn’t read this book sooner. WAKE is luxury. Pure luxury.

She manages to capture every single detail, every emotion and every sound.

Wake is that rare and beautiful thing: a first novel that sings with such power and grace that it lifts itself effortlessly from the pack. Powerful, passionate, compassionate, it marks the rising of a new star in the literary firmament. Anna Hope is here to stay.

Intricately researched and beautifully written, with the kind of restrained yet emotional prose one expects from a seasoned author. Its characters, too, have a depth and quiet tragedy one rarely finds in debut fiction. In this centenary year commemorating the outbreak of war, there've been many novels about the conflict:Wake is without doubt one of the best.

A masterclass in historical fiction

Impressive ... A heart-breaking tale of grief and guilt