"In his writing Imre Kertész explores the possibility of continuing to live and think as an individual in an era in which the subjection of human beings to social forces has become increasingly complete. [He] upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history." --The Swedish Academy, The Nobel Prize in Literature 2002
"[S]hould be savored slowly . . . Only through exploring its subtlety and detail will the reader come to appreciate such an ornate and honest testimony to the human spirit." --The Washington Times