Daughters of The Labyrinth

'Daughters of the Labyrinth is a novel about a daughter's passionate quest for the truth about what happened to her parents in Crete during the German occupation. It is also a sumptuous and sensuous evocation of Crete itself, its landscape and culture. Ruth Padel's brings a poet's eye to this world of great physical beauty and gnarled legacy' * Colm Tóibín *
'Ruth Padel brings a poet's ear for internal musical pattern, and deep and loving knowledge of the stones, light and colours of Crete, as she winds us into coils within coils of a family's dark history. She combines dramatic storytelling with moving reflectiveness, asking us to think again about whether it is better to remember or to forget?' * Marina Warner *
'Animated by keen imaginative empathy and a strong sense of place, this moving, satisfying, layered novel will transport you to the amethyst Aegean' * Daily Mail *
'A moving, superbly written exploration of a family with dark secrets. Crete itself becomes one of the main characters in the story.' * Irish Times, Best Books 2021 *
'A thought-provoking novel of identity, history and our times.' * The New European *
'A slow-burner of a novel, lyrical and psychologically astute.' * Mail on Sunday *
'An immersive novel, steeped in the history and folklore of Crete: transporting, historically informative story-telling' * Sunday Times *
'Entrancing - a wonderfully rich and absorbing novel, delightful in its evocation of Crete and its many-layered history.' * The Scotsman *
'I can't recommend this highly enough. Beautiful, moving, exquisitely layered and compelling. I absolutely loved it' * Christina Patterson (will need to ask her for permission to use) *
'Best books to read this Autumn' * Slightly Foxed *
Padel deftly sketches the complications of family as she teases away at questions of identity and home. Animated by keen imaginative empathy and a strong sense of place, this moving, satisfying, layered novel will transport you to the amethyst Aegean even as the real thing remains out of reach. -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *
Daughters of the Labyrinth [is] a moving and superbly written exploration of a Cretan family with dark secrets. Crete itself becomes one of the main characters in the story. -- Martin Doyle * The Irish Times *
It is rare to come across literary fiction as satisfying as Ruth Padel's Daughters of the Labyrinth - and I can't recommend it highly enough...Padel succeeds triumphantly [in addressing the Jewish condition] and the whiff of authenticity seeps from every page. -- Jenni Frazer * Jewish Chronicle *
A contemporary story, filled with the light and colours, culture and recent history of Greece. * Choice Magazine *
'Both a moving portrait of a daughter's search for the truth, and a sensual vision of sunlit Crete, Ruth Padel's novel is a dramatic and moving read.' * Woman's Own *