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His tales are poised and beautifully balanced, outward yet intimate, graced by both subtlety and substance. In Walking the Dog he proves his talents as a miniaturist once more.
Independent

MacLaverty shows an amazing ability to take a knife to a scene, cut it to the heart and close it again with a swiftness and deftness that takes the breath away.
The Scotsman 27 November 1999

Reading Bernard MacLaverty's fourth book of short stories is like stumbling across a stash of gold in your back garden... MacLaverty's mastery of the short story form is undisputed , but this book is a sheer joy to read.
The Universe

To point out the excellence of MacLaverty's writing is almost to do it a disservice. His prose is invisible, free of tricks, as though it was your own thoughts. His characters are revealed whole through every scrap of dialogue.
The Observer

Like the chimes of the unwound clock, the echoes in MacLaverty's stories go on and on , celebrating the improbable persistence of wonder in an unmiraculous world.
Boston Book Review

Compelling… Amulti-layered, near irresistible collection that consideres themes of religion, violence, and individual freedom with honesty, understanding and wit.
The Irish Voice

The stories in this collection are quiet and generous and amazingly powerful in their intimacy. MacLaverty's fiction draws out the magic hidden beneath the surface of simple lives with unexpected grace… [He] tells his stories with humour and understanding and with perfect control.
Virginia Quarterly Review