'This novel is easily described as wonderful, although, like a lot of great novels, it doesn't sound so good in the retelling. You have to read it to believe it. The Sorrows of an American does have a lot of plot, but that is not the main attraction: its beauty lies in the ability of the narrator to reveal the frailties of the human mind...her skill lies in convincing the reader that we have seen right inside someone's soul'Viv Groskop, Observer