'A masterwork from one of the most inventive artists of our day'
- John Banville
'An expertly spun ballad defined by themes of belonging, illusion and, fundamentally, fidelity'
- RTE Culture
'Jordan is a writer of uncommon talent, particularly around pacing and visual description'
- Irish Times
'The historical research is evident [and] as with his previous novels, Jordan creates an evocative sense of time and place... Although the book is an odyssey, tracking thousands of miles across the globe, the pace is leisurely'
- The Times
'Neil Jordan is one of Ireland's greatest, if ever-so-slightly unsung, novelists'
- Hot Press
'The historical facts are here, in this beautiful work, laid out like a Dublin street ballad with its verses and chorus and a short afterword, containing a chapter poignantly titled 'The Greatest of These' from Corinthians 13, and Jordan doesn't seek to reinvent these men, rather to enhance them'
- Sunday Independent
'This panoramic, painstakingly researched novel - told through Small's voice - is a convincing reconstruction of the way their lives interlocked despite origins in diametrically opposed worlds'
- Irish Independent
'Creates a vivid new perspective'
- Sunday Times
'An atmospheric take on a fascinating friendship'
- The Times
'This strange relationship - of indenture, but also of mutual need - defines this thrillingly written, gripping tale that revisits many of Jordan's lifelong preoccupations with class, Irishness and sexuality to powerful moving effect'
- Observer