Jane Gardam (All press)
- Dec 29 2017
Review: ‘Faith Fox,’ by Jane Gardam
— Minneapolis Star Tribune - Dec 23 2017
Baby Faith sent to live with uncle in Gardam novel
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Nov 27 2017
Holiday Books
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune - Jul 28 2017
“Most wonderful, though, is the author’s eye for the eccentric in what’s perfectly normal.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune - Aug 2 2016
"This is no ordinary bildungsroman."
— New Pages - Jun 29 2016
Newly Released Books
— New York Times - Jun 24 2016
The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years
— Parade - Apr 13 2016
"A quirky coming-of-age story"
— Kirkus Reviews - Aug 31 2015
Michele Zackeim of SVA's Summer Reading Friday Picks: "“Every character is marvelously intricate and sated with lop-sided, yet sane identities." - Jul 28 2015
Jane Gardam won the Charleston-Chichestor Award for Lifetime’s Excellence in Short Fiction on July 16th and will be presented the award on September 27th! - Jul 27 2015
ENCORE POST:Q&A with Jane Gardam - Apr 7 2015
Guest Post by Roger Moore: Notes from Vanderbilt in Spring - "While Gardam’s stories chronicle life in a particularly confusing moment in British history, her stories confront a range of universal themes and subjects." - Jan 24 2015
The Star Tribune: "Gardam's north country has a cheery, salutary effect." - Jan 2 2015
The New York Times: Meg Wolitzer praises Gardam's "superb stories." - Dec 14 2014
The Seattle Times: Best Books of 2014 - Sep 1 2014
NewPages Book Reviews: "Gardam's preference for short stories shows in this extraordinary collection of great writing." - Aug 10 2014
New York Times Editor's Choice: "Unexpected appearances of figures from the past drive many of these sly, bighearted tales." - Aug 4 2014
The New York Times Sunday Book Review: "They should inspire a well-deserved double take." - Jul 31 2014
The Stories of Jane Gardam makes the top ten fiction works of 2014 on TopList - Jul 28 2014
The New Yorker: "Gardam claims a terrain of social comedy somewhere between 'The Diary of a Nobody' and P. G. Wodehouse." - Jul 15 2014
Author Exposure: Author Robin Black cites Jane Gardam as influence - Jul 13 2014
Head Butler: "It’s worth the price of the book just to read that paragraph." - Jul 1 2014
Barnes & Noble Review: "Tragedy, in Gardam's fiction, is an intimate, muted affair" - Jun 27 2014
The New York Times's feature on Jane Gardam - Jun 26 2014
The New Yorker: "Gardam's only rivals are Dickens and Amis." - Jun 25 2014
The New York Times: "A sly writer with a delightful dark streak." - Jun 16 2014
The Seattle Times: "Though unsentimental, she drills beyond the contained English temperament to tap depths of feeling." - Jun 16 2014
Three Guys One Book: "I love it when sharing half an egg leads to momentous consequences." - Jun 16 2014
New York Public Library: "Gardam's versatility and mastery of her craft are always on display." - Jun 14 2014
The Quivering Pen: "simple, direct, furnace-hot." - Jun 5 2014
The Mookse and the Gripes on the story "Hetty Sleeping": "extremely affecting and personal and indelible" - May 7 2014
The Guardian: "A dangerous and formidable energy, richer and more concentrated than any novel." - May 4 2014
The Sunday Times: "These moving and diverting meditations on the past offer a simple lesson: they don’t make them like that any more." - May 2 2014
The Daily Express: "A haunting selection of prize-winning author Jane Gardam's finest work." - May 1 2014
The Daily Mail: "This new selection of her favourites covers three decades of her work." - Apr 29 2014
The Emerald City Book Review: "... the central characters [are] so finely drawn, so real and so human." - Apr 26 2014
The Independent: "One of our greatest living writers... she has the Austenesque quality of being satisfying and disquieting, conventional and experimental." - Apr 26 2014
The Independent: "This is a deeply, impeccably humane and pleasurable book." - Apr 21 2014
Publishers Weekly: "The full range of Gardam’s talents are on display here." - Apr 3 2014
Kirkus: "A rich haul from a well of talent." - Apr 1 2014
Elle: " I can't say I've read anything else like Old Filth, which stands out for me as a singular, opalescent novel, a thing of beauty that gives immense gratification to its lucky readers." - Feb 10 2014
Shortlisted for the 2014 Folio Prize - Dec 6 2013
Mary Whipple Reviews: "Younger readers (even Young Adult readers) may especially relate to Jessica’s personal quandaries and her learning curve, while older readers will appreciate Gardam’s style and her insights" - Nov 13 2013
Kirkus: "The qualities for which Gardam is cherished (the quirkiness, the bright-eyed wonder at reality) are already apparent in this early work." - Nov 11 2013
The Millions: "Gardam understands the beauty of coaxing something to unfold over time, and trusts her readers with the patience to watch her stories grow." - Nov 11 2013
Bustle: "Her passion and fiercely individual voice make her more than the run-of-the-mill teenage heroine, and make A Long Way from Verona far more than just another coming-of-age story." - Oct 8 2013
National Post: "All three Gardam books are beautifully written but it’s a pleasure to note that Last Friends, is the most enjoyable, the funniest and the most touching." - Sep 5 2013
The Independent: "Gardam's style is witty and graceful, at times reminiscent of Muriel Spark." - Aug 29 2013
Toronto Star: "...a lovely adventure." - Aug 2 2013
The Globe and Mail: "...a surpassingly luminous literary achievement." - Jun 23 2013
The Independent: "The "Old Filth" trilogy should be read by anyone who has ever been interested in how we become who we are..." - Jun 7 2013
The Guardian: "...an ambitious and complex portrait of extraordinary times." - Jun 6 2013
The Daily Mail: "...there is more humour, pathors and compassion crammed into this slim volume than many a book twice its length." - Jun 4 2013
Gulf News: "Gardam has a delightful style of writing that makes you wonder why the world is not more familiar with her work." - Jun 1 2013
Sydney Morning Herald: "LAST FRIENDS stays just on the edge of the comfort zone, where Gardam has always done her subversive comic work." - May 31 2013
The Independent: One Minute with Jane Gardam - May 23 2013
The Washington Post: "[Gardam] is a brilliant writer. Her prose sparkles with wit, compassion and humor." - May 22 2013
Times Literary Supplement: "A perfectly balanced ending to the trilogy that is Jane Gardam’s masterpiece." - May 1 2013
Library Journal: "For all who loved Gardam’s dear old eccentrics." - May 1 2013
NewPages: "Gardam’s book is full of unforgettable, amusing scenes." - Apr 30 2013
The Barnes & Noble Review: "Entirely original." - Apr 18 2013
Los Angeles Review of Books: "[Gardam] is the best kind of literary escape: serious, mesmerizing, and deeply satisfying." - Apr 11 2013
The New York Times Book Review: "It’s hard...not to be charmed by a writer with Gardam’s substantial gifts." - Apr 10 2013
Mary Whipple Reviews: "A lively and memorable trilogy which lovers of literary fiction will celebrate for its ironies and insights." - Apr 8 2013
Publishers Weekly: "Gardam proves that, even in its twilight, there is still life in the traditional English novel." - Apr 6 2013
The Boston Globe: "Vivid, spacious, superbly witty, and refreshingly brisk." - Mar 14 2013
The Europa Challenge Blog: "Moving, graceful, poetic, rich and bitingly witty." - Mar 10 2013
The Complete Review: "Gardam shows there's a lot of spark (and life, and depth) left to [fiction]." - Jan 20 2013
Kirkus Reviews: "Impeccably written." - Oct 10 2012
The Europa Challenge: "Gardam is so brilliant." - Jun 1 2012
NewPages Book Reviews: "This self-acclaimed best novel might be the perfect way into Gardam’s wonderful world." - Mar 10 2012
Bookslut: "If Charles Dickens and George Eliot had lived to experience the world they helped create, their fiction would have eventually condensed into that of Jane Gardam's." - Dec 30 2010
The Christian Science Monitor: "I haven't read a bad, or even mediocre, book by Gardam yet, and God on the Rocks offers plenty of the wit and humanity that are her trademarks." - Nov 28 2010
The Boston Globe: "Gardam orchestrates the subtle evolution of character and plot with Olympian omniscience and wry humor." - Nov 10 2010
Barnes and Noble Review: "Those who've yet to encounter the magic of this marvelous storyteller are in for an even bigger treat." - Nov 3 2010
The Huffington Post: "Gardam is a unique and wonderful writer." - Oct 29 2010
The New York Times: "We are in the hands of a master storyteller." - Sep 1 2010
Library Journal: "A treasure." - Aug 16 2010
A Work in Progress: "Gardam has created such an interesting character and placed him against the backdrop of the better part of the twentieth century." - Aug 9 2010
Publishers Weekly: "Gardam doesn't waste a word, and the story reads as fresh and relevant now as when it was originally published in Great Britain in 1978." - Mar 24 2010
The Asian Review of Books: "Gardam's latest novel is several minor miracles rolled into one." - Mar 11 2010
London Review of Books: "Thank God for Bettie" - Mar 1 2010
The Quarterly Conversation: "To write about real englishness" - Dec 21 2009
The Los Angeles Times: "The courtship and marriage of 'Old Filth' and his wife." - Dec 18 2009
The Globe and Mail: "If you have not yet found [Gardam], I urge you to do so immediately ” - Dec 18 2009
Christian Science Monitor: "In 'Old Filth' avoiding parenthood is presented as almost a relief. In 'The Man in the Wooden Hat' it’s an unspeakable tragedy." - Dec 15 2009
Mostly Fiction Book Review: "Gardam subtly illustrates the complexity of human beings through her characters." - Dec 13 2009
The Washington Times: "There are moments of magic that take your breath away, only to be replaced by cynical realism." - Dec 2 2009
Barnes and Noble Review: "The Man in The Wooden Hat comes full circle to where Old Filth begins..." - Dec 2 2009
The AV Club: "The Man In The Wooden Hat" - Nov 30 2009
The Daily Beast: "Great Reads for Thanksgiving" - Nov 27 2009
The New York Times: "Couple's Retreat" - Nov 18 2009
The Boston Globe: "A Study in Repression" - Nov 14 2009
NewPages Book Reviews: "The affectionate chronicle of a long marriage between two flawed but lovable characters. " - Nov 10 2009
The Seattle Times: "Old Filth" - Nov 3 2009
BookPage: The other side of the story - Nov 2 2009
The New Yorker: "Gardam's unassailable privacy." - Nov 1 2009
The Washington Post: The wife's side of the story - Nov 1 2009
NPR's "Fresh Air": The Inner Life Of An Imperfect Marriage - Oct 6 2009
Library Journal: "Admirers of Old Filth will be delighted to discover the backstory of his marriage and to renew acquaintances with a dear friend." - Aug 7 2009
Kirkus (starred review): "Gardam speaks volumes about her heroine, and she offers a quiet elegy for an entire generation. Funny, intelligent and immensely moving." - Aug 3 2009
Publishers Weekly (starred review): "Gardam's prose is witty and precise." - Jun 24 2009
Booklist: "Gardam is funny, cutting, a keen observer, and so well-attuned to her characters." - Oct 1 2008
Boston Globe: "Here is a writer who delivers the world we live in - the present world and the remembered world - with memorable and moving skill." - Jul 18 2008
Seattle Times: "Engrossing stories of hilarity and heartbreak." - Jul 7 2008
The Christian Science Monitor: "'The People on Privilege Hill' offers wise, mature, wry glimpses of an often unfathomable or vanishing, but invariably intriguing, world." - Jul 7 2008
Critical Mass: "Gardam , a much-decorated English author, is pure pleasure to read and ponder, with a voice that makes me think of a brilliant, tenderly funny, hyperobservant aunt who will you give the real skinny when no one else will." - Jul 7 2008
Jane Gardam in line for major short story prize - Jun 30 2008
Library Journal: "Gardam has created characters that are charming and touching and has edged them with her barbed humor." - May 14 2008
Publishers Weekly:" Gardam vividly evokes an age of iron wills" - May 12 2008
Kirkus Reviews: "The British Gardam (The Queen of the Tambourine, 2007, etc.) excels once again in this collection of 14 wide-ranging stories...Gardam’s brisk narration and fearless temperament make for serious fun." - Nov 12 2007
Mostly Fiction: "Gardam is a very funny writer, with a sense of irony that few writers can match. She is subtle and clever in creating Eliza, who is in complete ignorance of what is appropriate and what is not." - Nov 2 2007
Mostly Fiction: "Jane Gardam, with her supremely subtle humor, creates in Eliza a character whom no reader will be able to resist. " - Oct 25 2007
Barnes & Noble web: "The Queen of the Tambourine is funny and acutely observed in the same way that Penelope Fitzgerald's and Barbara Pym's novels are." - Oct 4 2007
Seattle Times: "British author Gardam, who won a Whitbread Award for this jigsaw puzzle of a novel, keeps up the suspense to the end, writing like a sorceress in the meantime." - Oct 4 2007
Boston Globe: "a novel that is both funny and moving. By book's end the title has achieved an ineffable poignancy and one feels that it could not possibly have been anything else." - Jul 31 2007
Pajamas Media: "This is a novel that can feel astonishingly alive. It has sweep and yet feels intimate - no mean trick. The story is full of incident and character, including a good deal of English drinking." - Sep 26 2006
The Grand Rapids Press: "Read the very British novel by Jane Gardam. You will find a character that defies stereotyping." - Sep 12 2006
New York Times: "Gardam's novel is an anthology of such bittersweet scenes, rendered by a novelist at the very top of her form." - Jul 10 2006
Seattle Times: "Gardam is an exquisite storyteller, picking up threads, laying them down, returning to them and giving them new meaning [...] "Old Filth" is sad, funny, beautiful and haunting." - Jul 4 2006
Washington Post: "'Old Filth' [...] will bring immense pleasure to readers who treasure fiction that is intelligent, witty, sophisticated and -- a quality encountered all too rarely in contemporary culture -- adult." - Jul 3 2006
Entertainment Weekly: "In assured, bone-hard prose, Gardam draws lines between Filth's all-but-orphaned youth, the traumas he suffered during and after the Blitz, and his bewildering new life as a widower in the modern English countryside." - Jun 28 2006
New Yorker: "This mordantly funny novel examines the life of Sir Edward Feathers, a desiccated barrister known to colleagues and friends as Old Filth (the nickname stands for 'Failed in London Try Hong Kong')." - Jun 13 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer: "A broad and colorful and complete tale, with a poignant heart." - May 30 2006
Booklist (starred review): "Anglophile readers wondering who their next favorite British writer will be need to look no further than Gardam." - May 29 2006
Dalls Morning News: "Readers of Jane Gardam's novel, Old Filth, will no doubt find it a masterpiece in storytelling." - Apr 19 2006
Kirkus Reviews (starred review): "The marvelously versatile Gardam dips into British imperial history for her extraordinary portrait of a Raj orphan. " - Apr 17 2006
Library Journal: "Both witty and poignant, this work is more than a character study; through her protagonist, Gardam offers a view of the last days of empire as seen from post-9/11 Britain."