"Provocative. . . . His novels have a way of . . . staying with you long after you've closed the book." -
The New York Times Book Review
"Rich and deeply affecting. . . . With the elegance and maturity of a prize-winning author . . . Phillips lives, breathes, and masterfully teases into prose the singular dilemma of the outsider." -
The Boston Globe "A powerful contemporary fable about cultural clashes and individual yearnings . . . told with a cool restraint." -
The Baltimore Sun "Compellingly readable. . . . Impossible to pull away from. . . . [Phillips] has demonstrated a remarkably fluent ability to inhabit characters whose perspectives on life differ radically from his." -
Los Angeles Times "Astonishing. . . . Chilling. . . .
A Distant Shore marks new heights in this author's narrative accomplishments." -
The Miami Herald
"Suspenseful, atmospheric, adventurous." -
The Independent "A devastatingly sad, powerful work of displacement, loneliness and racism." -
San Francisco Chronicle "A page-savourer. . . . The plot is teased out with all the supple control of a superb craftsman in his prime. . . . A remarkable and penetrating novel." -
The Times (London)
"Graceful and dizzying. . . . A novel of failed grasps at redemption and horrors that reduce characters to madness, murder, and incoherent grief." -
The Christian Science Monitor "A distillation of everything that makes Phillips' work so impressive: lucid, deceptively simple prose combined with huge ideas and complex emotion. . . . Arguably his most accomplished work to date." -
Time Out (London)
"Intriguing. . . . Transcend[s] limitations of time and place. . . . [Phillips'] use of descriptive detail and subtle symbolism is achingly on point." -
Black Issues Book Review "Just the sort of writing that reminds us how vital fiction can be." -
The Herald (Glasgow)
"Hums with ambition. . . . You can't help but admire Phillips' desire to explore . . . one of the great unexamined tragedies of our time." -
The Guardian
A superb new novel from one of 'the best and most productive writers of his generation' (New York Times). (2002-10-18)