Reading Alba de Céspedes was, for me, like breaking into an unknown universe: social class, feelings, atmosphere
- Annie Ernaux,
One of Italy's most cosmopolitan, incendiary, insightful, and overlooked writers
- Jhumpa Lahiri,
Electric... de Céspedes's novel anticipates the candid confessionals of writers such as Deborah Levy, Sheila Heti and Rachel Cusk... Formally precise, psychologically rich, and suffused in suspicion and suspense, Forbidden Notebook is an exquisite, tormented how
Financial Times
While I'm writing, I confine myself to occasionally reading books that keep me company not as entertainment but as solid companions. I call them books of encouragement, like those by Alba de Céspedes
- Elena Ferrante,
Recently rediscovered, her work has lost none of its subversive force
New York Times