"Irresistible... its intelligence, its honesty and, above all, its compassion provide a kind of existential balm-a comfort not unlike the sort you might find by opening a bottle of wine and having a long conversation with (yes, really) a true friend." –Curtis Sittenfeld, The New York Times Book Review
"In the crucible of [Miriam Toews'] genius, tears and laughter are ground into some magical elixir that seems like the essence of life." –
Ron Charles, The Washington Post "[A] wrenchingly honest, darkly funny novel. (Grade: A)" –
Entertainment Weekly "Bold, brash and big-hearted.... Toews writes from the point of view of Yoli, whose interior monologue reads like a cross between David Foster Wallace and Robin Williams if both were, in fact, a 40-something Mennonite woman with authority issues. She's a smart aleck with heart, a philosopher with a comic's timing." –
The Dallas Morning News "Toews (Irma Voth) does a wonderful job with her characters, none of whom are perfect, which makes them all the more real. It requires a talented author to take a serious subject and write such an engaging, enjoyable work." –
Library Journal (starred) "Touching and unexpectedly humorous." –
Marie Claire "The novel, which is essentially about complex family relationships, is heartbreaking and ultimately forgiving, as Yolandi wonders what courage is needed to end a life versus the courage it takes to endure. You'll want to call your sister or your mom after finishing." –
Bustle "[A] sad, wise, often funny and very good novel." –
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "'All My Puny Sorrows' is a bittersweet story about those who survive and those who can't fight the current." –
Minneapolis StarTribune "[A] triumph in its depiction of the love the sisters share." –
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "[A] masterful, original investigation into love, loss and survival." –
Kirkus (Starred Review) "
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews: The premise of Toews's sixth novel, released to critical acclaim in Canada earlier this year, is simple and devastating: there are two adult sisters, and one of them wants to die. She's a wildly successful and in-demand concert pianist, but she longs for self-annihilation. It's a premise that could easily be grindingly unbearable, but Toews is a writer of considerable subtlety and grace, with a gift for bringing flashes of lightness, even humor, to the darkest of tales." –
The Millions "Funny and irresistibly warm" –
Isaac Fitzgerald, BuzzFeed "A harrowing and often very funny novel ... Every page yields a surprise, a laugh, or a line that will make your breath catch in your throat." –
Dan Kois, Slate "As jagged and ripped open as a freshly torn heart." –
The Boston Globe "Thanks to the prodigious talent of author Miriam Toews, "All My Puny Sorrows" is an off-kilter, frequently funny and begrudgingly life-affirming romp through, well, death.... a novel with such wincingly painful honesty and mordant humor." –
Los Angeles Times
