`Subtly and deftly, Thompson succeeds in capturing the experience of city life ... Thompson can make a sentence sing in a way that is uniquely his own ... Turning the pages of COMMUNION TOWN you become aware that here is a new writer working out what he can do, and realising that he can do anything' Telegraph ... Read more `Ambitious, haunting and beautifully written ... Thompson succeeds in making the familiar seem strange and wonderful' Daily Mail `A book packed with powerful, memorable writing ... Thompson's engrossing, memorable debut is worthy of close, appreciative reading not just from Man Booker judges, but everyone' Sunday Times `Thompson's ten interlinked tales, longlisted for the Man Booker this week, deconstruct genre and myth while remaining original and superbly unsettling' Guardian `His writing is highly wrought and beautiful, with that sense of leisure and perfectionism one often finds hanging around the dreaming spires - he's incredibly intelligent and assumes you are too. As the ten stories unfold you're left with a vivid picture of an imaginary city with its own character' The Times `This impressive debut captures a city's shifting personality through ten stories. With unanswered questions and Gothic tinges, its kaleidoscopic approach blends into one bewitching picture' Sunday Telegraph `Subtly linked tales ... details are joyous' Independent on Sunday `Wonderfully atmospheric and full of a subtle gothic horror that eats away like dry rot at the timbers of this city, Sam Thompson's accomplished debut weaves many voice into a beguiling urban chorus' TLS `The 19th century motif of the flaneur - basically a figure who experiences a city through the act of walking - is revived to creepily dreamy effect' Metro `Dreamlike, gnarly and present, COMMUNION TOWN shifts like a city walker, from street to street' China Mieville `COMMUNION TOWN is one of those rare creatures - a first novel that combines ambition with humanity. It is a strange, remarkable work' Tash Aw Show Less