Paula Spencer

“Doyle has created a little masterwork, a gem of persuasive realism”

Tom Adair, Scotland on Sunday

“An intoxicating sequel...a phenomenally rewarding read”

Euan Ferguson, Observer

“Paula is a triumphantly original character, and her gently anarchic sense of humour, her ruthless honesty and the bursting sense of fun that permeates the book scotch any hint of sentimentalism. Doyle constructs his set-pieces and orders the narrative with a craft so unobtrustively elegant and clever that it demands a second reading. This is a splendid piece of work”

Independent on Sunday

“[A] magnificent achievement”

Guardian

“Doyle's writing is as sharp as ever. Sentences snap out from the page, some so short they only contain one word... Paula Spencer has come into her own and Roddy Doyle has gained a comfortable and wholly convincing access into the female mind”

Irish Times

“This is a magnificent novel...not once does Doyle offer any sentimental cop-out or wallow in bleakness...It's a disciplined piece of writing, full of humour and immense empathy - and what more can you ask than that?”

Scotsman

“There is an intense pleasure in the reading of this book”

Claudia Fitzherbert, Telegraph

“A complex and intricate portrait of an unlikely, yet likable, heroine”

Calum Macdonald, The Herald

“[A] marvellous novel”

Carmen Callil, Financial Times