John Banville - Ancient Light

Financial Times“The Stockholm jury should pick up the phone now...” The plot strands combine in the closing sections...these different periods of his life blending into a single meditation of breath­taking beauty and profundity on love and loss and death, the final page of which brought tears...

The Telegraph“Banville does regretful roués better than almost anyone...” None the less, this is a book of two halves. The account of Cleave’s affair is terrific - full of sadness and yearning. Yet the more contemporary strand feels forced and a bit so-what-ish by comparison...

The Independent“Impressive intricacy...” 'Ancient Light' is not concerned to convey the sociological realities of small-town Ireland in the 1950s; rather, at its core is a moment out of time, though universal in its implications, and intensely remembered...

The Observer“Creates a vivid new angle of reflection...” Cleverness is on display, and nothing might be quite what it seems, but Banville's duty of care, to the emotional lives of his characters, to the worlds in which they live, is not neglected for a moment...

Guardian“Written in Banville's customary prose, rhythmic and allusive...” The effect of the dual narrative is disorienting. At the novel's beginning, they seem unconnected, save for by their subject; by its close, the past seems entirely inflected with the present...