"In the last ten years this magnum opus has eclipsed Ulysses as the most influential novel of the 20th century. Proust is wonderfully companionable, his analyses of passion and snobbism and the corroding effect of time are devastating, but despite his philosophical gloom his rich, intelligent prose is exhilarating. He and George Eliot are the most intelligent of all authors."

"As popular as this novel is among the Arthurian Legend fanatics and 13-year-old boys, I have always found it and its author very untrendy to love. Then Helen McDonald’s stunning H is For Hawk came along last year and blew up my spot. Still, I’m happy to share the love — and to know much more about T.H. White now."

"The people of this sci-fi novel live underground in darkness. They retain ‘light’ in their language, but only in allusions to a lost paradise. They worship Light (‘For Light’s sake!’), and their theology includes demonic figures that engineered the fall from Light’s grace. The demons are called Strontium, Cobalt, and the arch-devil, ‘Hydrogen Himself.’ Go figure, as you Americans say."