Reading Alba de Céspedes was, for me, like breaking into an unknown universe: social class, feelings, atmosphere
- Annie Ernaux,
Ruthlessly, thrillingly, unsentimental... [A] dauntless writer... To read de Céspedes for the first time brings both exhilaration and humility, a reordering of one's mental bookshelves
TLS
One of Italy's most cosmopolitan, incendiary, insightful, and overlooked writers
- Jhumpa Lahiri,
Matches the bravery of the author's Forbidden Notebook in its groundbreaking portrayal of a group of female friends in Rome... Readers will be grateful for this rediscovery
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
De Céspedes writes with blazing urgency about the hidden lives of women realizing that they are being suffocated by the very institutions that claim to protect them. A book so incendiary it's practically hot to the touch
- Sarah Chihaya, author of 'Bibliophilia',
Her writing is brilliant: angry, electric, slightly mystical
The Times
de Céspedes quietly subverts a culture and political hierarchy which preached that a woman's place was in the home... Beautifully rendered
Irish Times
de Céspedes is masterfully in control of her ensemble in this energetic, timeless coming-of-age story
Literary Review