"For everyone studying English literature this book should be required reading; it is a wonderful explanation of how writers build their books from the words upwards."
Daisy Goodwin The Sunday Times "a clarion call for aspiring writers to do that most simple, time-consuming but enjoyable thing: their homework ...Prose's forthright, waspish and often very funny book is a plea to all writers for vigour and clarity, one which encourages them to tend to the details of technique, and the mastery of language, as closely as they tend to their own ambition."
Louise Doughty The Observer 'astute and enthusiastic commentary for writers and readers' Times Literary Supplement 'a volume that shows how to judge a book not by its cover, or even by its subject matter, but by the quality of its writing' Culture, The Sunday Times 'an essential book for any writer...who purports to take his or herself remotely seriously' The New Review, Observer 'Delightful and edifying...a fabulous book I intend to keep permanently to hand' Bookseller 'informative and inspiring' Good Book Guide