Impressively, A Private Man is sensuous but never salacious ... The ecstasies of attraction are sublimated into their long conversations about Boethius and Hildegard von Bingen, or about the suddenly debatable issues of contraception and clerical celibacy ... Those two qualities—gravity and passion—characterize this standout debut.
An unusual family history ... Lush, evocative and sexy ... Sy-Quia’s great skill is in conjuring up whole landscapes and states of mind in a few words — the stylistic economy learnt through writing poetry — and here it is on great display ... A truly impressive debut novel, one I could see appearing on the Booker longlist, and which I’ll want to read and reread in the years to come.
Based on the story of the author’s grandparents, Sy-Quia’s restrained, chiselled prose will delight admirers of Elizabth Bowen and Anita Brookner, where the orderliness of the surface underlines the emotional churning beneath.
Sy-Quia wisely avoids tying up all loose ends, creating a portrait rather than a complicated plot ... A tender, surprising excavation of minds meeting and hearts singing through disappointments to very human deaths.
Emotive and revelatory ... The narrative of forbidden romance blossoms into a revelatory meditation on the double bind of faith, showing how the characters’ impossible decision will force a loss either way. This is superb.
