We Had It So Good - Media reaction

We Had It So Good – Media reaction

Posted by Stephen Dumughn in Book News, Previews

We Had It So Good , Linda Grant's stunning new novel, is published today. And the reception from critics and reviewers has been truly extraordinary so far. Here's a round-up of the reviews and reaction to date:

‘Grant is a lucid, stimulating writer and this is a deep reflection on the life span of the baby boomers. This subject could, of course, be deadly in the wrong hands, but Grant really is gifted: her prose is accessible, vivid, upbeat, sensible and constantly thought-provoking. She pays attention to big issues but never loses sight of the everyday details that define who we are. Again and again she takes the parochial and extrapolates. It is this talent that animated The Clothes on Their Backs. Grant demands that we think about the mechanisms of life: the irritating details that make us who and what we are, and what they really mean. Ultimately, it is this intensity that lifts the novel above others of its ilk’ – Lucy Atkins, The Sunday Times

‘This is a gripping family saga stylishly told. Postwar California, Oxford and London are re-created superbly and brightly. Yet big ideas surface continually and make this much more than a readable trip down one man’s life path. Is family history a subject that you can ever really learn? What is a Jew and what is an Englishman? Is it wrong to marry someone you don’t think you will stay with for ever? Grant approaches these questions with her usual insight and subtlety and comes close to creating the perfect novel: one that never stops working to fill the reader’s mind with good and difficult things, and which takes you to beautiful and often frightening places’ – Melissa Katsoulis, The Times

‘… her best novel so far. This is a serious, thoughtful novel that asks questions Grant has asked before, but does so in a way that perfectly matches form and content. That perfect match doesn’t make for easeful or complacent work; on the contrary, it show depth and feeling that both disturb and reassure’ – Lesley McDowell, Financial Times

‘Grant is never afraid to confront big ideas in her books, and this is no exception. That Grant can so vividly encapsulate the lives and times of her characters in less than 350 pages is testimony to her skill as a writer and perceptive observer of human behaviour. We Had it So Good is a portrait of a marriage and a family, and the compromises and bittersweet truths that come with age’ – Catherine Heaney, Irish Times

‘Grant weaves in the stories of the generations on either side of the baby-boomers. Grant explores these ineluctable familial ties over four decades, suggesting that we may never really know our parents and exploring the lies parents tell and the truths their children doubt. Grant has an effortless style – no metaphor ever feels forced – and her many ideas linger with you long after you have finished reading. The novel is pleasingly unpredictable too – I never once foresaw a plot development. My only complaint? I fear I may not read a better book all year’ – Rosamun Urwin, Evening Standard

Feature on Radio 4, Front Row

Feature on Radio 4, Saturday Review

‘… very entertaining’ –Tom Sutcliffe

‘… I loved it’ – Richard Coles

‘I do like the way she writes’ – Paul Morley

Read a two page interview with Linda Grant in the Guardian Review here

And click here to watch a brilliant piece on Channel 4 News