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Bernard MacLaverty's prose ... is vivid and virtually faultless. He has the knack of breathing life into a character in the time it takes to say a simple sentence...one of the best practitioners of the genre we have.
James Campbell in The New Statesman (30 April 1982)

MacLaverty's fiction... is the work of a contemporary master.
Alan Bold in The Sunday Standard (2.5.82)

Ten short stories, near perfection... an anthology of diverse delights.
Publishers Weekly (23 July 1982)

Marvellous stories, written with economy and feeling. They speak directly from the heart. MacLaverty has a rare feeling for the rhythms of dialogue. I thoroughly recommend them.
Kathy O'Shaughnessy in Literary Review (July 1985)

... not since J.D.Salinger's For Esme With Love and Squalor have I enjoyed so much a collection of stories. I mean pleasure - real pleasure.
Paul Durcan in The Cork Examiner (4th May 1982)