The Optimists

Exceptional . . . it describes a journey with many false starts and blind alleys; in its attention to detail, and its recurring theme of the power of images, it does so spellbindingly * Sunday Times *
The writing is clear, precise, feelingly observant . . . Miller is a fine writer * Spectator *
A powerful and lively book, seriously engaged and cathartic . . . gently, almost imperceptibly, impelled by the nourishment of love * Financial Times *
A novel about humanity and inhumanity, about the nature of truth, reality and representation, and, most of all, about the ways in which we choose to see the world . . . A profound novel, meditative, not conclusive, offering no simplistic answers . . . it leaves the reader with a feeling of courage and, in the face of so much evidence to the contrary, hope * Observer *
A shocking, moving but ultimately hopeful vision of the best and worst of humanity * Sunday Express *
A delight to read . . . a novel of great intelligence and understanding, populated by characters who are recognisable yet exceptional * Time Out *
Beneath the simplicity lies the profundity of Miller's writing . . . In Clem Glass, Miller has created neither a victim nor a victor but a man driven by his own innate decency, a character in whom we can believe, a person about whom we care and that is what great writing is about * Irish Times *
The uncluttered narrative and the slow, quiet accumulation of everyday detail imbues this novel with a quiet grace, which is redemptive in itself * Daily Mail *
A haunting exploration of good, evil and the possibility of redemption * Red *
Miller has found in the tricky subject matter a vein of emotion that he draws from to brilliant effect * Herald *
Delicate, compassionate * Metro *
Andrew Miller again proved his ability to blend a sturdy and satisfying architecture of character and plot with headline-hot themes * Independent *
[There are] some sentences you want to re-read, not because their meaning is unclear, but because they condense the world into a couple of words, capture a certain truth * Sunday Business Post *
Once again Miller shows himself to be an acutely sensitive observer of life at a particular moment in history * Wall Street Journal *
A work of solemn artistry. Miller's style is one of guarded lyricism, in which he allows just enough poetry in the language to get the job done, the mood or moment caught -- Editors' Choice * New York Times Book Review *
Subtle, beautifully written . . . Miller's prose brings grace and lucidity to what is dark and baffling in Clem's predicament, the predicament of a caring man in an uncaring universe * Boston Globe *