What Was Promised - Tapa dura

What Was Promised vibrates with the polyphonic sounds of London in the aftermath of the war, carrying the reader through the hopes and needs of ensuing generations. Hill writes with magnificent poise, seducing us through the prism of lives in the book with his buoyant, mischievous prose (Nikita Lalwani)

Beginning after the Second World War and ending 40 years on, this is a portrait of London and its citizens: grubby, thieving, vibrant, drawn from many continents and rendered poetic by Hill's prose (Vogue)

Hill's writing has a stunning economy and control (The Times)

Mr Hill's book has many strengths. First is the depiction of London itself ... Second is the dialogue, such as the louche fashion photographer telling a woman she's a "knockout" ... Third is a male writer's impressive depiction of female experience ... He deserves high praise (Economist)

Hill has created a dazzling and deeply affecting portrait of a city struggling back to prosperity and of the resilience of its people. It is a novel that questions the idea of home, and what it means to belong, and should secure Hill's reputation as one of the outstanding writers of his generation (Observer)

Hill's language is simple enough that its beauties serve character or place rather than interfering with them ... Such is his lightness of touch that it would be easy not to notice how tightly constructed the novel's plot is ... The poet's gifts are matched here by the novelist's: the result is absorbing as well as elegant (Sunday Times)

From the first sentence Tobias Hill commands the reader's attention and we are not released for the rest of the book . A superb read; its true power lies in Hill's poetic prose . As Hill shows in the book, life rarely delivers what it promises; this novel, on the other hand, delivers a lot more (Sunday Herald)

Beautifully written and ultimately gripping, as anyone who knows his work would expect (Kamila Shamsie, Guardian Summer Review)