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'Outstanding...Dunmore is a remarkable storyteller. She has a wonderful ability to conjure utterly convincing detail, with each of her characters beautifully realised. This novel is elegantly written,unfailingly intelligent and a sheer pleasure to read.'
(Daily Mail)
'If bids for immortality are in the offing, I'd say that Helen Dunmore has a better chance than most. She has written another novel of great tenderness and beauty, one that celebrates both the small pleasures and the grand passions, and which ranges over her characters and their stories with a profoundly compassionate eye.'
(Independent)
'The personal and the political are interwoven. Just as Finland is oppressed by Swedish and Russian influences, free-spirited Eeva becomes territory for the conflicting desires of those around her. But the novel's greatest achievement is the depiction of Thomas Eklund, his instincts constantly checked by his agonising self-knowledge - a truly great fictional character.'
(Daily Telegraph)
'House of Orphans is vibrant with detail...all seem to rise naturally from the narrativerather than being imported furnishings. Equally she does not allow facts to obtrude, but simply illuminate the story...Finland in 1901 lives again.'
(Penelope Lively, The Sunday Times)
'There isn't a dull page. The double theme is handled with dexterity and intelligence; Thomas and Eeva are memorable characters. This is a novel in which scarcely a single wrong note is struck...It is a remarkable achievement and one which firmly establishes Dunmore as among the best living novelists.'
(The Scotsman)
`An extraordinary novel' (Guardian)
`A marvellous richness of texture ... to be in the hands such an accomplished write is a great pleasure' (Spectator)
`Vivid and exciting ... Dunmore creates a beautiful sense of stillness ... she conveys a passion for Finland's icy landscape' (Observer)
`Eeva is a glittering character' (The Times)
`A portrait of a country at war is brilliantly achieved ... a spellbinding tale' (Red)
`Extraordinary ... combines a luminous delicacy of observation with raw emotional power to haunting effect' (Sunday Telegraph)
`Beautifully written ... a story about us all' (Evening Standard)
`Part love story, part tragedy ... Dunmore on dazzling form. Everyone should read her work' (Independent on Sunday)
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