MixedThe GuardianAs always, De Bernières writes with whimsical sympathy – except when it comes to Daniel’s relationship with Rosie ... De Bernières has said he is a committed advocate for separated fathers, but I can’t help wondering: why does he use a verbal sledgehammer to make Daniel’s case, when he has written of greater tragedies in a lighter style?
Alice Hoffman
RaveThe GuardianThe almost supernaturally prolific American author Alice Hoffman has taken a busman’s holiday this year to pen a little fan fiction: a prequel to her own bestselling novel Practical Magic … Hoffman has a soothing touch, so we quickly get over the various horrific tragedies with which her latest book is littered – any one of which would pole-axe us personally for life. It’s all the great circle of death, we comfort ourselves, as we stroll through the scented garden of Hoffman’s prose.
