RaveThe Guardian... Newman’s sparky sensibility is given the grandest of backdrops ... It’s one heck of a pitch, and in the hands of any other writer could wind up gimmicky, but Newman’s genius lies in balancing these timelines and worlds so finely that the whole thing is seamless – not to mention lots of fun. The narrative darts around deftly and the bursts of archaic language are playful and tender ... Newman is a sharp observer of character, and Ben and Kate’s social circle of moneyed activists and radical artists is familiar but far from cliched ... When the Twin Towers came up I groaned inwardly, but then Newman did something so fresh and weird with the story that the tragedy was injected with new life and meaning. I also want to mention her heartbreaking use of parentheses. Who would have thought that a writer’s use of brackets could reduce a reader to tears?
