Reviews

PRAISE FOR CHRISTINA KONING’S NOVELS

A Mild Suicide
‘Christina Koning writes about the eternal triangle as if it were an entirely fresh subject, a new seam of fiction. A Mild Suicide displays an acute sense of place, carefully controlled shifts of viewpoint and a distinctive, crisp sensuality of style.’
Adam Mars-Jones
‘A Mild Suicide tests boundaries and invites uncomfortable questions… Christina Koning’s ability to create a dream-like atmosphere is almost uncannily intense.’ Scotsman
‘Koning… writes beautifully of love’s folly.’ Daily Telegraph

Undiscovered Country
‘A beautiful evocation of a tropical childhood. I wish I’d written this book.’ Barbara Trapido on Undiscovered Country
‘Christina Koning’s novel has all the insight and innocence of a childhood reminiscence, but with the jaded, haunting souls of the adult world laid bare. It is an intriguing story, compelling to the end.’ Esther Freud
‘A lovely book – sensuous, sad and often extremely funny… an intense, richly textured narrative.’ Patrick Gale, Daily Telegraph
‘Evokes a vivid atmosphere of heat, colour and impending crisis… the best novel I have read for a long time.’ Miranda France, Spectator
‘Koning’s narrative smartly captures the brittleness and boredom of the expat social scene… it is a considerable achievement.’ Alex Clark, Guardian
‘Christina Koning writes beautifully, with a vivid sense of place and sensitivity to emotion. Her second novel is a fine achievement.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Delicate and steely, like fine lace.’ Marianne MacDonald, Observer
‘Full of exquisite writing and considerable charm.’ Michael Arditti, Independent
‘Undiscovered Country whips along with tremendous gusto… putting the reader under its elegant spell.’ Philip Hensher, Mail on Sunday

Fabulous Time
‘Fabulous Time is a showcase for Christina Koning’s literary dexterity.’ Observer
‘A well-observed, artfully plotted and blackly comic piece of South Coast Gothic. It would make a good film.’ Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement
‘Deliciously funny… Her subtle comedy is a delight.’ Independent
‘She makes you avid to know the destiny of all her characters.’ Penny Perrick, Sunday Times

The Dark Tower
‘I absolutely loved it.’ Elizabeth Buchan
‘I thought the period detail was terrific… A really gripping narrative.’ Ian Hislop
‘Beautifully written and constantly surprising.’ Kate Saunders, The Times
‘Koning handles the historical material so well, folding it into the narrative so that there is never a sense of strain… She really conveys the largeness and potency of the landscape and the way the human characters seem to waver over it or be hidden within it…’ Helen Dunmore

Variable Stars
“A beautifully and carefully written book, well researched and imaginative, about a fascinating woman, and the tension, even then, that existed between a woman’s emotional life and her ‘career…'” Fay Weldon
“Christina Koning has written the very best kind of historical novel. She takes the little-known… stories of the astronomer siblings Caroline and William Herschel and their friend Edward Pigott and fashions a poignant fiction on the mutability of human life and its reflection in the heavens… Highly recommended.” Michael Arditti
“Koning’s elegant novel traces Caroline’s journey; summoned from Hannover to Bath to grind mirrors, do the housework and sing the principal soprano parts in the oratorios her brother put on. It’s a wonderfully empathetic view of the indignities of playing second fiddle to genius…” Alfred Hickling, The Guardian
❝Koning deploys her extensive research skilfully to tell a fascinating and moving story about the longing for knowledge and the nature of love❞ Kate Saunders, The Times

Line of Sight

“A great opener to what promises to be a compulsively readable new series.” Heat

“Beautifully envisioned, this novel brings to life the world and experiences of the blind. And with great attention to period detail, Koning has wholly captured the flavour of the era.” The Lady

“A beautifully nuanced study of social life in the early 1920s and a gripping murder mystery. Koning’s prose is as elegant and discreet as ever and her depiction of the carnage in the Flanders trenches is as powerful as any that I have read in contemporary fiction.” Michael Arditti

“Touch, hearing, smell and visual memory created such a full world that it was hard to believe it hadn’t been described visually.” Helen Dunmore