Her deftly episodic novel of love, time and off-beat family life is warm, generous and wise. An enormously engaging novel * Daily Mail *
Carry The One is a finely crafted novel, full of phrases you want to cut out and keep, and characters you think you know. It is delicate in its touch, yet huge in its reach * Observer *
Superb . . . Anshaw sees her characters with startling clarity, an acute alertness to nuance, and no small helping of warmth and humour . . . Anshaw's writing [is] subtle, bemused, kind and smart, she nails moment after moment . . . Carry The One is a marvellous novel, grown-up, smart and emotionally intelligent about people who, like the rest of us, try but mostly fail to keep their ducks in a row -- Patrick Ness * Guardian *
A tender tale of what happens to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances * Marie Claire *
Here's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide -- Emma Donoghue
Beautifully observed . . . [Anshaw] intimately dissects how one event or choice can alter the trajectory of a life, how a fork in the road can lead to wholly unexpected and divergent outcomes -- Michiko Kakutani * The New York Times *
A funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches -- Rachel Johnson * Vogue *
Anshaw's understated, casual tone is made delightful with small details.Vivid images hit home with finishing flourishes . . . Carry The One is an engaging narrative, eloquently told * FT *
Carol Anshaw is one of those authors who should be a household name . . . [a] fine, eloquent novel * USA Today *
Superb . . . [Anshaw] has a knack for capturing a personality in a single phrase * Financial Times *
Moving and engaging . . . Anshaw has written not only a funny, smart and closely observed story, but also one that explores the way tragedy can follow hard on celebration, binding people together even more lastingly than passion. -- Sylvia Brownrigg * The New York Times Book Review *
Words used to praise Anshaw's earlier novels - witty, warm, intimate, poignant - apply equally well to her most compelling book yet, a wholly seductive tale of siblings, addiction, conviction, and genius . . . Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humour, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory * Booklist *
A brilliant feat of storytelling . . . one of the most intensely vibrant novels I've ever read * Boston Globe *
Funny, touching, knowing . . . a quiet, lovely, genuine accomplishment * Publishers Weekly *
Splendid . . . sits somewhere between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a collection of haiku * Entertainment Weekly *
Anshaw is that rare, brilliant, witty writer whose prose is rich and buttery, and whose plotting is as well-conceived and seamlessly executed as that of the most intricate thriller * Chicago Tribune *
If you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book * Entertainment Weekly *
Graceful and compassionate . . . Writing with rueful wit and a subtle understanding of the currents and passions that rule us, Anshaw demonstrates that struggling to do one's best, whatever the circumstances, makes for a life of consequence * People *
A fine novel . . . stunning . . . wise * TLS *
Anshaw submerges the reader in gorgeous detail * Independent *
Carol Anshaw's writing is cool and funny, outraged and sympathetic by turns. The book is full of sharp observations and memorable phrases * Literary Review *
Beautiful prose * Independent on Sunday *
A series of beautifully detailed snapshots . . . an arresting examination of three intersecting lives, forcefully told * Telegraph *
