Love And Other Impossible Pursuits

'I felt utterly wrung out after I'd read it. Such powerful, honest writing ...All through the story Ayelet Waldman maintains the balance between candidly demonstrating all her heroine's flaws and yet never once losing our sympathy...Fantastic'

Kate Long, author of The Bad Mother's Handbook

'This book deals with a painful theme in the funniest, most touching and intelligent way. It charts the excruciatingly recognisable traits of mothering brilliantly. I read it in one sitting. I was filled with envy and awe

Arabella Weir, author of Does My Bum Look Big in This?

'Sharp, painfully honest, and as funny as it is heartbreaking. I literally couldn't put it down'

Shane Watson, author of Other People’s Marriages

Wicked stepmothers everywhere have cause to cheer. Waldman tells it like it is: Tough, touching and very very funny

Bella Pollen, author of Hunting Unicorns

Waldman hooks us from page one ... Tells it with a wittiness and pace which never slacken

Independent on Sunday

Very moving

Margaret Forster

What is excellent about this book is its realism, crisp observations, and the easy identification it successfully invites

Guardian

Utterly brilliant.

OK!

In this interesting inversion of the wicked stepmother story the reader's sympathy is instantly engaged . . . Considerablr darker than its racy, pacy style suggests.

The Times

'I read in one sitting . . . A triumph.'

Diane Johnson, author of LE DIVORCE

A must for...any guilt-ridden, wicked stepmothers out there . . . Clever, honest...and very funny.

Glasgow Evening Times

Ayelet Waldman isn't afraid to shock people. Quite the reverse. Her declaration last year that she loves her husband more than her children caused an international outcry and catapulted her on to Oprah Winfrey's show to defend herself. Her controversial new novel about the fractured state of family life looks set to do the same ... Honest, touching and acutely observed, it is impossible to put down. One moment I was laughing out loud...while the next I had tears pouring down my face ... But it's the growing relationship between Emilia and her stepson that forms the heart of this tale. Whether you're a parent or not, you can't fail to be moved by it.

Daily Express

Gripping ... Both candid and comic.'

Mail on Sunday

·'Ayelet Waldman is an uplifting discovery: a fantastically enjoyable new writer with no pretensions and a genuine story-telling gift . . . An absolute delight . . . A light-hearted and human book that touches on crashing emotions with a combination of tenderness and irreverence.'

Sunday Times

·'Ayelet Waldman...has made it her mission to combat what she called "the perfect mother myth." . . . provocative and often rashly frank . . . Her literary models are Sue Miller and Dani Shapiro . . . shares some of British writer Rachel Cusk's acerbic wit . . . Can be gobbled up in just a sitting or two, zipping along toward its dependably cathartic climax.'

LA Times

'Compelling and artfully drawn . . . Emilia's voice is terrific - sharp, witty, funny, resilient, sarcastic, passionate and very angry.'

Washington Post

A moving and darkly funny read . . . Romantic, shocking and sometimes painful page-turner . . . says something new and interesting about women, families and love.

New York Times

A very good, very funny writer ... The perfect book for anyone who doesn't already know that motherhood is the hardest job in the world.

Irish Examiner

Funny and painful. Will strke a chord with anyone who is a member of a family.

Good Book Guide

. . . just plain clever: a sharply observed comedy of manners . . . Rising star Ayelet Waldman tells a strong human story with brio.

Sally Cousins, Sunday Telegraph