Shrewd and timely - the best novel I've read in ages. Ferociously well written, and hugely entertaining -- SARAH WATERS Masterly * * New York Times, 100 Notable Books of 2017 * * An absolute tour de force -- LINDA GRANT * * Guardian, Best Books of the Year * * Erudite, beautifully written, funny, tragic * * Daily Mail * * Darkly witty and exhilarating * * The Times * * With its echoes of Simone de Beauvoir and Samuel Beckett, this quiet meditation an old age seethes with apocalyptic intent . . . Brilliant * * Guardian * * Masterly, poignant and uplifting * * Mail on Sunday * * Drabble has pulled off a quietly revolutionary portrait of an age-group whose lives are just as urgent as anyone's but are rarely considered ***** * * Sunday Telegraph * * Ageing and dying in style . . . Margaret Drabble's sharply drawn characters look back on lives lived and forwards to achieving a good death * * Observer * * Uplifting . . . Profound . . . Unforgettable . . . At its heart is the enormous question, how do we know if we've had a good life? * * Sunday Telegraph * * Now 77 and on her 19th novel, Drabble is skillful at creating brilliantly drawn, three-dimensional characters in this thought-provoking and witty read * * Sunday Post * * Written with tremendous energy . . . Drabble has always been an observant chronicler of human life. Meditations on what makes a good death . . . are enthusiastically explored in a text that roves fluidly between past and present. Inquisitive and erudite * * Literary Review * * A vein of black humour pulses . . . as entertaining as a conversation with a dear friend * * Daily Mail * * Heartbreaking and hilarious * * Sunday Independent * * Witty and intelligent . . . brimming with relevance * * Independent * * A heartfelt rumination on the process of ageing and inevitability of death * * The List * * A significant achievement, admirable and truthful * * New Statesman * * A thought-provoking, witty and surprisingly acerbic read * * The Herald * * Sharp observation and pessimistic pondering . . .There is a gloomy, undeniable truthfulness to this novel * * Daily Express * * Drabble's brilliance . . . builds up a sense of wide horizons that one has never seen in quite the same way before * * The Times * * Her distinctive narrative voice and soaring prose remain electrifying * * Spectator * *
