Praise for Anthony Quinn's
Freya "Freya is the very best type of heroine: smart, spirited and determined."
--Christine Mangan, author of
Tangerine "Fantastic [...] [A] testament to women who fought for what they wanted in a time of little personal and professional autonomy. Clever dialogue [...] wonderfully captures the personalities, strengths, and weaknesses of major and minor characters alike."
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Publishers Weekly "[A] fascinating, luminous story of a decades-long friendship between two women, interrogating gender roles and expectations with a masterly human touch."
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Entertainment Weekly
"This fall's great historical epic may be an import."
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New York "[A] double bildungsroman set against a background of political and cultural upheavals."
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The New Yorker "With this three-dimensional portrait of his headstrong heroine, whose hard-gloss shell conceals a hard-fought vulnerability, Quinn achieves a distinct and unusual creation: a leading lady who is likable because of her unlikability."
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The New York Times "Quinn's devotion to his central character and his gift for bringing myriad scenes and situations to life make these pages a pleasure."
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The Boston Globe "
Freya is a nuanced work, combining exciting social history, and acute characterization."
--The Spectator "Freya and Nancy could use another volume; here's hoping."
--The Guardian "With its busy plot, its drinking and smoking, its crisp wit and contemporary soundtrack [...], Quinn's novel delivers evocative, high-quality entertainment that may well leave readers hoping for a sequel."
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Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"Here is a modern woman to be celebrated in all her contradictions and complexity."
--The Evening Standard Praise for
Anthony Quinn "Quinn is the literary equivalent of Houdini, a novelist who has a particular talent for absenting himself and letting his characters come to life."
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The Independent "Quinn brings the period in question vividly to life: his research is exemplary, and his subject absorbing."
--Observer
"[Quinn] has a thrilling knack for turning familiar periods of history into something surprising and often shocking, and for making the fortunes and misfortunes of his characters matter."
--Evening Standard