<b>This is McGuinness's best collection by far, and stands out from the crowd</b>
Sunday Times
<b>An eloquent fusion of the delicate and the direct</b>
Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*
<b>McGuinness has a delightfully distinctive voice… His buoyant imagination always carries the day</b>… He can be breathtakingly simple, and to have written one poem as good as 'Tired Metaphor' is enough for any writer in any year
Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*
<b>Arresting</b>... Reminds us that the best poetry is often that which never makes it from the notebook
Guardian
<b>Patrick McGuinness writes</b> of the other country of childhood <b>with Proustian élan and Nabokovian delight</b>
- John Banville, author of The Sea,
<b>A deeply moving book of poems</b>... Shimmering with the "sweet dark syrup" of humour, and gorgeous sleights of imagery,<b> these are poems of extraordinary grace</b>; they come up for air with their cupped hands empty, yet brimming with light
- Fiona Benson, author of Ephemeron,
<b>An extraordinary writer of great compassion</b>
- Denise Mina, author of The Field of Blood,
<b>The brilliance of Patrick McGuinness's writing has made his memories unforgettable to the reader</b>
- Adam Foulds, author of The Quickening Maze,
<b>Brilliant... A book alive with understated yearning</b>
Literary Review