Beautifully thought through, deeply serious and enormously intelligent - Jane Smiley, GuardianThis passionately conceived, coolly delivered work is almost certainly the best American novel you will read all year . . . not to be missed - Melissa Katsoulis, Sunday TelegraphA mystery story that develops into a subtle and complex novel . . . sharp, confident, tolerant and civilised - Tom Deveson, Sunday TimesThis novel is easily described as wonderful . . . THE SORROWS OF AN AMERICAN feels like a very personal story and is all the more intimate for it . . . her skill lies in convincing the reader that we have seen right inside someone's soul - Viv Groskop, ObserverFor all its cerebral riches, this novel is composed with superb artistry, Hustvedt handles the numerous interlocking narratives with immense skill. . . It is proof of Hustvedt's talent that the terrors of this novel feel real - John de Falbe, Literary ReviewThis satisfying and emotionally rich follow-up to Ms Hustvedt's acclaimed WHAT I LOVED treads some similar themes: love and loss; the limits of perception; the drama of dreams; and the need to craft coherent stories from the unreliable fragments of memory. As with her previous novel, Ms Hustvedt's cerebral characters are tenderly drawn, wise and realistic . . . a beautifully sincere examination of the grim traps of over-active minds - EconomistA novel of deep wisdom and storytelling - Lucy Beresford in New StatesmanIt is a rare writer who can both rouse the mind and grip the heart, and all the while provide the sensuous delights of image and language. In her new novel, as in What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt does that and more . . . a book that's almost impossible to put down, and even harder not to re-read - Lisa Appignanesi, Independent