The Thing Around Your Neck

' The Thing Around your Neck , with its warm and sympathetic heroines and its finely cadenced un-American English prose, demonstrates that she is keeping faith with her talent and with her country.' Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times 'Her particular gift is the seductive ability to tell a story...Adichie writes with an economy and precision that makes the strange seem familiar. She makes storytelling seem as easy as birdsong.' Jane Shilling, Telegraph 'The writing throughout the book has a verve that propels you forward through the pages. And a pervasive, lightly mocking intelligence gives the whole thing a lively, satirical edge.' James Lasdun, Guardian 'Adichie's spare, poised prose, the coolness of her phrasing, ensures these scenes are achieved without melodrama. And though she writes very specifically about Nigeria, the stories have a universal application.' FT 'An elegant collection. From beginning to end the prose is serene and the characterization deft.' TLS 'Almost every [story], in the way only the most satisfying short stories manage, holds the kernel of something bigger in its fist yet is simultaneously a fully realised, standalone entity. They don't aspire to be novels - that would be a bad thing - but they hum with potential.' Scotsman 'The powerful themes close to Adichie's heart shine through, but never over-shadow writing of clarity and brilliance.' Aminatta Forna, Guardian