'The writing is subtle and powerful and moves towards a conclusion that's inevitable and shocking' Northern Echo 'An intelligent and well-crafted book, Alice Falling is certainly not for sensitive souls who enjoy romance and happy endings. It is a grim tale of hypocrisy and brutality, written in a raw and forthright style. Much of the subject matter is unsavoury but the haunting eloquence of Wall's prose make it an evocative and compelling read...Wall's strength is that his writing is vivid and disturbing, but never sordidly detailed...Wall's characters are all very real and believable - their psychological torment latent on every page...an excellent debut' Irish News 'His first novel betrays the poet's hand: frequently rich in cadence and image...Wall already displays impressive adeptness with dialogue and with multiple points of view, and it may be anticipated that his future career will find poetry losing him entirely to prose' John Kenny, Irish Times 'A book about emotional damage and the price of freedom' West Lancashire Evening Gazette 'While this book is certainly disturbing, it never seems bleak or oppressive. This is largely due to Wall's poetic handling of words, which suffuses the book with a lyrical rhythm, while at the same time he manages not to slip into lush romanticism.' Time Out 'Alice's life is disfigured by tragedy. As a child she is abused by the local priest and her sister dies in a car crash. To escape her childhood she marries young, only to find a husband who beats her. She knows she should leave him, but her disturbed mind can only think of murder. However, this is not a murder story. Wall deftly draws a tale as complex and as fragile as the characters themselves. A powerful and unsettling read' The Times 'You'll like this book; the themes are not original, but Wall is too pacy a writer to be pompous and heavy-handed' The Tablet 'The haunting eloquence of Wall's prose make it an evocative and compelling read ...an excellent debut' -- Irish News 'Instantly gripping ... A brutal, brilliantly written, deeply unsettling novel' -- Sunday Business Post 'The sort of book that renews your faith in Irish fiction ... a deeply affecting novel' -- Books Ireland 'A powerful and unsettling read' -- The Times
