Paula Spencer

[A] marvellous novel

Carmen Callil, Financial Times

Roddy Doyle has done the impossible - he has made Paula Spencer even more unforgettable the second time round

The Times

[A] magnificent achievement

Guardian

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

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

Raw and honest, strong and fragile, Paula remains Roddy Doyle's most realistic and heart-warming creation

Waterstone's Books Quarterly

Brilliant...and Paula, as she patches a self together from remnants, emerges as an inspiring heroine

New Yorker

A tale of ultimate personal struggle, and told superbly

Wall Street Journal

An extraordinary story about an ordinary life

People

Beautifully nuanced and sweetly populist

USA Today

Strangely hypnotic...emerges poignancy and a kind of heroism

Sunday Telegraph

In Paula, Doyle has created a great character

Sunday Times

A convincing and touching depiction of an alcoholic's journey towards recovery

Observer