'Gripping.' New Statesman
'Compulsive.' Observer
'Strange and exhilarating.' Sunday Times
'A joy to read.' Sunday Telegraph
'Constantly surprising.' London Review of Books
'One of the most original comic creations in recent fiction.' Guardian
Time passed slowly in the 1950s, especially if you'd been put to bed and told not to move (until further notice). But John Cromer, the central character of this extraordinary novel, is much closer to being an explorer than a victim. He's the weakest hero in fiction - unless he's one of the strongest.
The first instalment of the semi-infinite Pilcrow sequence, this novel of capacious wit and style marks the opening chapter of the most memorable and enjoyable experiment in modern fiction.
'Pilcrow is a humdinger, a startling work that stands out against the monotonous field of contemporary British fiction as a genuine, almost miraculous oddity.' Metro
Industry Reviews
'I'm not quite sure how Mars-Jones was done out of the Booker prize for this wonderfully minute, intimately detailed novel that manages nevertheless to make you feel that every word carries universal meaning. But I think he should sue ... critics have remarked on the Proustian aspect to the detailing opf John's life, and it's not an exaggeration to invoke that name here ... Mars-Jones's skill in making us trust him [John] absolutely is quite masterful.'
