Carry the One

Superb ... Anshaw sees her characters with startling clarity, an acute alertness to nuance, and no small helping of warmth and humour ... Anshaw's writing [is] subtle, bemused, kind and smart, she nails moment after moment ... Carry The One is a marvellous novel, grown-up, smart and emotionally intelligent about people who, like the rest of us, try but mostly fail to keep their ducks in a row -- Patrick Ness Guardian Beautifully observed ... [Anshaw] intimately dissects how one event or choice can alter the trajectory of a life, how a fork in the road can lead to wholly unexpected and divergent outcomes -- Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches -- Rachel Johnson Vogue Carol Anshaw is one of those authors who should be a household name ... [a] fine, eloquent novel USA Today Superb ... [Anshaw] has a knack for capturing a personality in a single phrase Financial Times Moving and engaging ... Anshaw has written not only a funny, smart and closely observed story, but also one that explores the way tragedy can follow hard on celebration, binding people together even more lastingly than passion. -- Sylvia Brownrigg The New York Times Book Review Words used to praise Anshaw's earlier novels - witty, warm, intimate, poignant - apply equally well to her most compelling book yet, a wholly seductive tale of siblings, addiction, conviction, and genius ... Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humour, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory Booklist A brilliant feat of storytelling ... one of the most intensely vibrant novels I've ever read Boston Globe Here's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide -- Emma Donoghue Splendid ... sits somewhere between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a collection of haiku Entertainment Weekly Funny, touching, knowing ... a quiet, lovely, genuine accomplishment Publishers Weekly Anshaw is that rare, brilliant, witty writer whose prose is rich and buttery, and whose plotting is as well-conceived and seamlessly executed as that of the most intricate thriller Chicago Tribune If you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book Entertainment Weekly Graceful and compassionate ... Writing with rueful wit and a subtle understanding of the currents and passions that rule us, Anshaw demonstrates that struggling to do one's best, whatever the circumstances, makes for a life of consequence People A fine novel ... stunning ... wise TLS Anshaw submerges the reader in gorgeous detail Independent