Barbara Trapido was much praised for her sparkling Brother of the More Famous Jack. This one is even better … contains a good deal of subtlety and even tragedy beneath its hilarious surface

I adore her books

An achingly funny novel … wickedly observed

There is no mistaking Trapido’s narrative talent: racy, vibrant and witty

Reading it is rather like being bombarded with sequins

Barbara Trapido’s writing is so sparklingly clear and witty that it can be a shock to realise how strong an undertow runs beneath the surface

A family tapestry rich in good humour, sensuality and comical human imperfection. Each character’s story moves back and forth in time, shimmering with life

The plot’s interplay of flashbacks and digressions, which prompt bright dialogue and dark complications, recalls Matisse’s line and palette. Some sentences can be relished in isolation, like fine brushwork

Full of wisecracks, efficiency, carnal delights, and love of children … warm and comic

Excellent – funny, sexy, glowing. An easy read, but in Trapido’s case easy reading is the product of hard writing …. An unobtrusively artful book. There is something Nabakovian in [her] determination to enchant … Trapido casts a faery light over the materials of everyday life

Splendid … Trapido’s wit can swiftly wound, but does not alienate the reader’s delight … She carries along the tale with great descriptive gusto

A rare delight … This novel is written with a scintillating intelligence, expressed in exquisite phrasing and beautifully shaped sentences that finish on a perfect note