* This is a man writing and you should not read it if you cannot take a punch ...Mr Algren can hit with both hands and move around and he will kill you if you are not awfully careful ... Mr Algren, boy, you are good -- Ernest Hemingway * Powerful, grisly, antic, horrifying, poetic, compassionate ... [there is] virtually nothing more that one could ask New York Times Book Review * The finest American novel published since the war Washington Post * A classic portrayal ... stylish, atmospheric and moving Independent on Sunday * A true novelist's triumph Time * Profound Guardian