The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break

Sad, funny, disturbing - and strangely true -- ANTHONY BOURDAIN
A wry, melancholy, beautiful first novel . . . The language is everywhere precise and graceful . . . Genius * * Guardian * *
Beautifully detailed and honed . . . a poetic testament to the wild, unchartable experience of human loving . . . Sherrill's vision is at once melancholy and deeply affirming. Somewhere in M's inchoate mass of sensation there exists a sharp spark of hope * * Observer * *
Immaculate . . . Sherrill is a beautiful writer . . . he finds the drama to keep you reading, your heart in your mouth, to the conclusion's defiant roar of hope * * Telegraph * *
At once ugly, tender and hopeful . . . Sherrill's Minotaur allows for allusive readings but remains rootedly among us * * Independent * *
Exceptional . . . Steven Sherrill uses M as the vehicle for a finely observed and compassionate portrayal of humanity in all its guises * * Irish Independent * *
As Updike did with small-town pep rallies and broken-down cars, Sherrill finds a descriptive paradise in the mundanities of the Minotaur's reality: the rhythms of the restaurant kitchen, the mysterious pleasures of auto repair, even the stench of rotting dog at the trailer park, are palpable . . . Wise and ingenious * * New York Times * *
M can't help being a mysterious figure, but this mythical creature cannot be projected onto - he is wholly real, and, just like us mortals, is haunted by his past and preoccupied with finally arriving in the present. Reading it feels like peacefully floating on your back and feeling the expanse of the ocean below you -- JEN CALLEJA
This is the most surreal slab of realism you will read all year. Unique and rather wonderful * * Arena * *
Sherrill's dense, poetic style never falters in its creation of a perfect metaphor for the eternal outsider -- CAROL BIRCH * * Wall Street Journal * *