‘An exceptionally stylish book, stylish in the true sense.’
PENELOPE FITZGERALD
‘Beautiful stories…In Barrett’s hands, science is transformed from hard and known fact into malleable, strange and thrilling fictional material.’
Boston Globe
‘Barrett’s men and women seem to rise from the page to stare into one’s face. “The English Pupil” concerns an afternoon in the life of botanist Carl Linnaeus who, by 1777, is an old man. Linnaeus, who discovered and named thousands of plants, now finds it virtually impossible to even remember the name of his most beloved daughter. The melancholia that pervades this story, which is set in the wintry Swedish landscape, is not easily forgotten.’
Time Out
‘With its assumptions of logicality, science highlights the tension between harsh reality and human emotions. “The Behavior of the Hawkweeds” is typically resonant, where the tale of a botanist thwarted by a jealous rival is folded into a story which, while on the surface a portrait of a woman’s disappointments in marriage, also encompasses national enmities and the life-struggle of immigrants. An elegant and powerful story collection.’
Sunday Telegraph
‘Andrea Barrett’s work stands out for its sheer intelligence. The overall effect is quietly dazzling.’
New York Times
‘The range of Barrett’s settings, tones and treatments is impressive…[But] however well executed the first seven pieces, nothing in them can really prepare the reader for the concluding title story. Nearly a hundred pages long, and perfectly capable of standing as a short novel in its own right, this supplies extraordinarily vivid and ghastly accounts of the death ships fleeing the Irish famine and the personalities involved…Andrea Barrett’s British publishers are apparently in hot pursuit of the rights to her other early titles. On this evidence they should be worth the wait.’
Literary Review
‘Thrilling and provocative…Each story is more engrossing than the last. It must be said, however, that the title story in particular is a masterpiece. It is so vividly expressed, that the reader can almost see each sight described.’
Big Issue
‘An extraordinary story collection. Barrett blends a sure grasp of the history and method of science into each of her evocative tales.’
Chicago Tribune
‘Barrett builds her fictions like stones thrown into prose ponds: science is the stone, while human dramas, personal and social, are the concentric rings that radiate beautifully outward.’
Newsday