Mr Golightly’s Holiday Reviews

"Few novelists would have dared to tackle the theme of Salley Vickers’ third novel; fewer still would pull it off so triumphantly."
John Julius Norwich

"A compulsively readable novel from the word-of-mouth bestseller ... Salley Vickers’ latest is much more than a slightly eccentric and humorous tale about the small things in life. In fact, it gradually becomes apparent that its significance couldn’t be greater ... "
Observer

"Written in elegant understated prose, her work probes the human condition, while encompassing myth, metaphysics and spirituality, and embracing the big themes of life and death, good and evil along the way."
Christie Hickman, Daily Telegraph

"Vickers writes quietly and confidently about the relationship between nature, humanity and the numinous. Mr Golightly’s Holiday is simultaneously funny, sad and surprising, as fresh and hopeful as one of Shakespeare’s comedies and for similar reasons. Vickers is never less than original and, when conveying her understanding of human frailty and potential, she can be sublime."
Pamela Norris, Literary Review

"Vickers’ distinctiveness lies in her ability to temper her prose with almost savage insight as she daringly pursues answers to life’s biggest questions."
Hephzibah Anderson, Daily Mail

"Vickers is smart, her touch is light and comedic, and both the philosophical questions she raises and the characters she brings to life to symbolise these questions, are stimulating and convincing...Mr Golightly’s Holiday is full of charm."
Lesley McDowell, Independent on Sunday

"This novel is an extraordinary find and one that is incredibly difficult to review because to reveal exactly why it is so good would be to ruin any reading of it. Salley Vickers is deservedly something of a phenomenon in publishing circles – with Mr Golightly’s Holiday she proves herself once more as an original and inspiring talent. Mr Golightly’s Holiday is as beautifully eccentric and English as its central character."
Viv Groskop, Daily Express

"Extraordinarily accomplished."
Sue Leonard, Irish Examiner

"An intriguing and daring story about love, loss and loneliness, woven together with skill and confidence. Big questions of life, love and death vibrate throughout the novel, culminating in a surprise ending in which Mr Golightly’s true identity is revealed."
Lily Dunn, Time Out

"I liked Vickers’ first two novels very much; I like this one even better. Like Miss Garnet it combines the everyday and mythic. Like Instances of the Number 3 it is untroubled by excessive cleverness. Its message, if it has one, is inscribed in the Robert Orage epigraph: ‘‘Take hold tightly, let go lightly...’
Brian Morton, Sunday Herald

"Vickers has produced a novel that is witty, engaging, complex and profoundly moving. It’s simply her best yet."
Fanny Blake, Woman & Home

"Vickers’ third novel contains all the elements of humour and expert story-telling but the author is far too subtle and intelligent to announce outright what she is really about to do; that is to deal with the intricacies of human emotion and answer some of humanity’s fundamental questions. It is a testimony to Vickers’ skill as a narrator that she manages to produce a hugely readable and uplifting piece of prose out of such difficult and delicate themes. It would seem she takes a certain delight in selecting deliberately weighty subject matter and simplifying it into light-hearted witty prose."
Clare Sawers, Scotland on Sunday

"Salley Vickers is a writer who, once read, gets into your system. She conveys an inspiring belief in kindness and an understanding of the quality of mercy."
Emma Garrow, England on Sunday

"Salley Vickers’ novels display a growing confidence and this latest is very much the best of them."
The Economist

"A compulsively readable novel from the word-of-mouth bestseller"
Observer

"Salley Vickers is a writer whose subtle intelligence I always enjoy. She sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand and she knows how the world works. She’s a presence worth cherishing"
Philip Pullman

"Reflective and quietly jubilan"
Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year

"Daringly pursues answers to life’s biggest questions"
Daily Mail

"Her work probes the human condition, embracing the big themes of life and death"
Daily Telegraph

"As beautifully eccentric as its central character"
Daily Express