'A fine novel, about family, migration, identity and the struggle to find and hold onto it. It is also hugely entertaining and very, very funny.'
Roddy Doyle 'The family story has been a durable mainstay of the novel for more than a century ... THE LAMENTS is a lively corrective to the subgenre, a family story on speed, ... Read morewith a jolt of black comedy that makes it a close relative to that greatest of all American family stories, THE SIMPSONS ... any apparent invitation to either characters or readers to fall into a sentimental slump is quickly withdrawn. The only other novel I can think of that creates this effect with equal success is John Irving's WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP ... There is an admirable and enviable range and ambition ... the appearance of George Hagen on the literary scene is a gain for readers everywhere.'
New York Times Book Review, Jonathan Wilson 'Immensely readable, funny, and touching - a complete joy.'
Elizabeth Strout 'George Hagen's highly entertaining debut novel features an irresistibly headstrong family, a global sweep, and not only a sense of loss and displacement that's perfectly in tune with the world we live in but also a full measure of resilient humanity.'
Gary Shteyngart 'Luminous, humane, and wonderfully acerbic - as if Evelyn Waugh got a hold of John Irving's characters and handed them all Pimm's No. 1. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this is one of the best debut novels I've read in years.'
Peter Blauner Show Less