Told in his usual
exquisite prose, the story centres on the strangely reticent character of Maud, who leaves the West Country after a tragedy and bravely attempts to single-handedly sail across the Atlantic. You know you're going to like a character when, in the first few pages, she falls 20ft in a boatyard, then gets up and tries to walk.
Infused with nautical detail and the cool brine of the sea, this is perfect summer reading. -- Sarah Hall * Observer *
We readers have a most fabulous time... The story of Tim's narcissism, self-deception and deception, and of the chiming treacheries of his friends and family, is rich and delicate enough to have sufficed for most contemporary novels...[the finale] guarantees that Maud, and questions about Maud, will linger in your mind long after you close this remarkable novel -- Kate Clanchy * Guardian *
Hypnotic... Andrew Miller has a poet's ear but he can also write white-knuckle passages that will leave you winded by towering waves. Most surprising of all, you'll find yourself rooting for Maud as she confronts the limits of her own detachment -- Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *
Visceral and exquisitely written... few characters are so neutrally, impassively masterful. In her silence she is magnificent...the grand solitude of the sea passage, dialogue-free and with a punchy simplicity reminiscent of Hemingway, follows on beautifully from the judgment of those on land...Miller, wisely, hardly analyses Maud. But the portrayal of this practical, disconcerting figure is wildly emotional ***** -- Philippa Williams * Lady *
Achieves a kind of hallucinatory strangeness, simultaneously intriguing and disturbing -- Alex Clark * Spectator *
Part relationship study, part sailing yarn, this odd yet enthralling book lingers long in the mind. -- Neville Hawcock * Books of the Year, Financial Times *
A beautiful novel; moving, funny, mysterious and compelling. Maud is a stunning creation - a great modern heroine with a pure ancient heart * Patrick Marber *
*PRAISE FOR PURE*
Pure is a near-faultless thing: detailed, symbolic and richly evocative of a time, place and man in dangerous flux. It is brilliance distilled
* Sunday Telegraph *
His recreation of pre-Revolutionary Paris is extraordinarily vivid and imaginative, and his story is so gripping that you'll put your life on hold to finish it. * The Times *
The writing throughout is crystalline, uncontrived, striking and intelligent. * Literary Review *
