Extraordinary . . . Mrozek's brief fables are something like Kafka's stories, but they're funnier

As promising a first collection of stories as I have ever come across

Ian McEwan writes to shock and succeeds... It is a tour-de-force of concision, and funny, too, in a deadpan manner

And now for a brand new writer of formidable talent, Ian McEwan who is 27. His stories First Love, Last Rites…are the most devastating debut I have seen for a long time

A brilliant debut by the most promising writer around

Now 40 years since first publication, McEwan's first published work is still his most hauntingly dark and atmospheric.

A talented and genuine imaginative writer. McEwan's details often grow into strange, powerful images - the ironies, throughout this impressive collection, are tellingly weighted

A writer of uncanny power

Ian McEwan writes to shock and succeeds... All his stories have a feeling of impending evil - it is a tour de force of concision, and funny, too, in a deadpan manner

His writing is exact, tender, funny, voluptuous, disturbing

A brilliant performance

The Maestro

McEwan has - a style and a vision of life of his own... No one interested in the state and mood of contemporary Britain can afford not to read him

A sparkling and adventurous writer