- Published: 3 September 2007
- ISBN: 9780099501374
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $19.99
Paula Spencer
- Published: 3 September 2007
- ISBN: 9780099501374
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $19.99
[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