A slim and finely-toned book about an overweight ruin of a father ... an uncompromising work of power and grace. I finished reading it a week ago, but I still can't put it down * Jon McGregor *
Psychologically acute, Michael Kimball's narrative is also shot through with gallows humour * Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail *
A surprisingly enthralling portrait of an abusive father who surrendered to self-loathing and a son's struggle to forget him ... What results is a spellbinding and unflinching meditation on forgiveness, a novel that secures Kimball's reputation as a literary innovator * Time Out, Chicago *
We carry our parents with us. For some, it's a mostly congenial burden, a mixed blessing of joy, resentment, respect, anger, pleasure and pain. For others, including Daniel Todd Carrier, the aptly named narrator of Michael Kimball's astonishingly moving novel, the weight is almost too much to bear ... Big Ray is an appalling tale told with anger, dark humor and surprising tenderness * Wall Street Journal *
Michael Kimball never ceases to astonish. He is a hero of contemporary fiction * Sam Lipsyte *
In this tender, gorgeous novel, Michael Kimball explores how we try to understand even the most difficult family members * Oprah.com *
A short read that will stay with you for a long time ... Humorous yet heartbreaking * Grazia *
In this sparingly written document, which pares back all extraneous detail to get at the emotional core, there's a striking degree of honesty ... It is, above all, a convincing depiction of a man trying to work through conflicting emotions to settle on a conclusion about a father's real legacy: how he is remembered by his children * Herald (Glasgow) *
Slim haunting novel ... Daniel's meditations on his dead father achieve the precision of poetry. New details emerge with re-reading so that, like the process of making sense of formative events, you never really finish Big Ray * Independent *
