PositiveTimes Literary Supplement (UK)Thin Places combines memoir with nature writing, history and politics. The form allows ní Dochartaigh to explore her past, illuminating a path to where she is now ... She brings to life what we perceive to be long gone: the \'thin places\' of her title are those places where the fabric between worlds is gossamer-like ... This is a sad book ... It might have been good to see more...joy – for her to evoke it with her considerable talents. But, as the best books are, Thin Places is transporting. In describing her past and examining it closely, ní Dochartaigh has written herself the home she’s been searching for.
Ingrid Persaud
RaveThe Irish Times (IRE)It’s no surprise that BBC Radio loved her writing, as Persaud’s rich prose is first-person, voice-led and dances to the rhythm and sounds of Trinidad – a dream to listen to and read. I say \'listen to\', because the sentences speak to you, are translated into speech in your head. The cuisine appears before your eyes, the tastes on the tip of your tongue, too, and that, combined with the sights, smells and sounds of the island so vividly described by the author envelop you in an immersive storytelling experience ... Persaud lets us know right from the beginning that she won’t flinch from the worst of human behaviour but will describe, graphically, at times, scenes other authors might shy away from ... Don’t be put off, as the novel is funny too, and full of life ... Nothing comes easy to our characters; nothing is straightforward in their messy lives. It is that messiness that marks Persaud’s novel as terribly human; loneliness, the craving for love, the failures and tragedies alongside the pleasures of food and flesh and the joys of human relationships ... Persaud now lives between London and Barbados, but her voice is pure Trinidad, in all its charm, complexity, musicality and earthy vibrancy.
Claire Fuller
PositiveThe Irish TimesShe seems to have fun with the twisty plot, creaky mansions and moments of Gothic, horror-like excess ... Bitter Orange reads like an assured, old-school, du Maurieresque classic. It’s an atmospheric page-turner that speeds us towards a bloody climax of shocks and surprises.
