Absorbing, funny, painful . . . I consider it<b> a masterpiece</b>
- Hilary Mantel,
<b>Shocking, titillating, and acid-laced</b> . . . the book still dazzles as a generational portrait, falters as fiction, and blighted McCarthy's life
- Laura Jacobs, Vanity Fair
<b>A brilliant novel: </b>honest, engaging and sharp as a tack
- Sarah Waters,
McCarthy's characters confront many of the same issues as their modern counterparts: sex and contraception, career and marriage, love and lust, fidelity to one's husband versus loyalty to one's friends and the attempt to carve out a place for oneself unconstrained by the gender limitations of previous generations. Its <b>continuing relevance is one of the book's most extraordinary attributes</b>
- Elizabeth Day, Guardian
Few works of literature can genuinely be termed "<b>ahead of their time</b>"
The Times
<b>Juicy, shocking, witty</b>, and almost continually brilliant
Cosmopolitan
Lively, vivid and exceedingly entertaining
Sunday Times
One of my favourite books ever
- India Knight,
A woman of intellect and style
- Celia McGee, New York Times
Her <b>greatest novel</b> . . . <b>marvellous</b> . . . a prophetic book which set the scene . . . for the novels of protest and liberation in the next decade
Independent
Feels like discovering a thrilling secret. Its prose shows a master stylist at work, its aesthetics are striking - all ivory-tipped cigarettes, hand-pureed pâté, Vassar socialists in dungarees - and it has a surprise queer romance that twists the whole narrative into new shape. <b>It's my new standard for a summer read: lavish, hilarious, smart and mean</b>, like a glamorous friend you're torn between fearing and crushing on
- Mikaella Clements,
Scalpel-keen prose, honed on ruthless wit and insight
Observer
She is a sparkler, a very funny, very savage moralist, and a brilliant mimic
Spectator
This is the book which has aroused considerable advance speculation and well it might; it has a <b>tremendous reader recognition</b> . . . there cannot be much doubt that Mary McCarthy is an exceptional social satirist, with a jackdaw eye and an infallible ear
Kirkus Reviews
McCarthy's dissection of this disparate group - highly educated but powerless in a world of men - <b>is witty </b><b>and merciless</b> but tinged with sadness.
Daily Mail