Beautifully written novel about marital infidelity from a Booker-shortlistee * Sunday Times, Must Reads *
Among his many gifts is Woodward's extraordinary skill in taking all the big themes - sex, truth, faith, obsession, existential crisis, the works! - and wrapping them up with such deft lightness of touch that the pages all but turn themselves. This is contemporary family drama at its most compelling, and with a brutally exquisite ending. -- Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall
Hugely enjoyable, a unique love story that's both witty and poignant. -- John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
What really makes this book so impressive and enjoyable is the writing, whether it is Woodward's occasional tongue-in-cheek similes or his convincing insights into all manner of things * Sunday Times *
Woodward's prose has a rare and wondrous texture that comes from his ongoing play between the comedic and tragic moments of his characters' lives. The Paper Lovers is a beautifully wrought narrative with a devastating ending - an intimate exploration of requited and unrequited desire in all its forms. I couldn't put it down till I was done, and then I wanted to laugh and cry all at once, at the sheer absurdity of being human. An epic novel that should draw comparisons with Greene's The End of the Affair. -- Nikita Lalwani, author of The Village
An unsettling tale of passion, faith and identity . . . Woodward has always been a keen observer of the family dynamic and here he deals confidently with love, marriage, betrayal and suburban stasis . . . the way in which Woodward navigates these choppy waters is engrossing * Observer *
The wry truths that Woodward teases from the ensuing identity crises are universal in their poignancy * Mail on Sunday *
A mordantly ironic novel . . . Paper, we're reminded at one point, has an edge, and there are plenty of those to Woodward's discomforting tale * Daily Mail *
An immensely clever, tense, troubling and satisfying book, with so many little chambers of interest and so many huge issues subtly handled. -- Jim Crace, Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Harvest
A closely observed allegory of obsession and redemption * Guardian *
Woodward is an agile writer * TLS *
Gerard Woodward is one of our finest writers . . . he writes with subtlety and skill * Daily Telegraph *
The pains and perils of adultery are brilliantly exposed in this haunting novel. * The Times, The 100 best books to read this summer *
