PositiveThe Evening Standard (UK)Enjoyable ... Kuper’s book is an affectionate take on Paris, by turns amusing and quaint.
Colum McCann
RaveThe Standard (UK)An appalling, fascinating tale ... The book is, at times, terribly difficult to read, but it needs to be. As a testament to Diane Foley’s personal struggle and determination it is always fascinating, as is the depiction of the awful emptiness she experienced on hearing of her son’s death. As a book, it is incredibly moving, and as a journalistic exercise it is gold standard.
Mary Gabriel
PanEvening Standard (UK)You wouldn’t have thought it would be possible to write a dull book about such a rich life as Madonna’s, but Mary Gabriel manages it. She also spends 800 pages managing it, which compounds the achievement ... The research is, like her subject, dogged, and yet it is completely without style. I also suspect her grasp of popular culture is something that doesn’t come naturally to her ... There are some little gems towards the beginning of the book, where Gabriel uses found quotes to build a portrait of an ambition built from the tragedy of Madonna’s mother’s death, but it is not enough to turn this into an interesting book on any level, as this doorstep of a biography then turns into a litany of diary items.
