'[Listeners] prepared to enter Gilbert Time will be rewarded: she is an unflaggingly curious writer, prone to delightful touches.' -- The Sunday Times 'Sumptuous ... Gilbert's prose is by turns flinty, funny, and incandescent.' -- The New Yorker 'Gilbert dares us into adventures of worldly discovery.' -- The New York Times Book Review 'Smart but unpretentious, funny, warm, and generous. By the end of one of her books, you feel as if she is your friend, too.' -- San Francisco Chronicle 'If a more likable writer than Gilbert is currently in print, I haven't found him or her. Gilbert's prose is fuelled by a mix of intelligence, wit and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible, and makes the [listener] only too glad to join the posse of friends and devotees who have the pleasure of listening in.' -- The New York Times Book Review