«Echenoz continues to throw custard pies at literary norms, in particular the machinery of your average novel. But the custartd itself is of a very high quality... An extraordinary book... a fresh and amazingly graceful way of looking at the world»

Giles Foden, Guardian

«All the Pooterish school-boyish humour is perfectly caught by Guido Waldman's excellent translation, which paints a bleak landscape with verve and panache, dextrously juggling rueful nerdiness, cliché and slang without once putting a foot wrong. Here's the novel to pack for that springtime read»

Michele Roberts, Financial Times

«Echenoz offers more delight in each paragraph than a shelf full of blockbusters»

Scotsman

«A sly mixture of intrigue, sexual observation and acid social commentary, created in an atmosphere of relentless suspicion»

Daily Telegraph

«Ironic, witty, detached, knowing and not unsympathetic... what makes this book so much fun is Echenoz' ability to create plausible characters who do slightly implausible things in familiar settings»

Observer