The Pattern in the Carpet

Engrossing . . . Blends family history and reflection with social and cultural history to reveal the novelist's passion for jigsaws . . . Moving and candid . . . Fascinating * * Observer * *
A mature overview of a lifetime spent fitting objects together in various ways before breaking them up and beginning all over again * * Guardian * *
Touchingly human and often wise . . . a book with such enthusiasm for its subject matter that it makes you long to embark on your own jigsaw * * Telegraph * *
Throws poignant light on the difficult jigsaw of human life - and on how to shed harmful thought patterns and reassemble them into something less destructive -- Anita Sethi * * Independent * *
Part memoir, part rigorously researched historical perspective, Drabble's book is a multi-layered look at jigsaw puzzles and their role through the ages for society, individuals and herself; it's also a charming homage to Drabble's beloved Auntie Phyl, who passed her lifelong love of jigsaws on to Drabble * * Publishers Weekly * *
Gently illuminating . . . An evocative study in memory and the techniques used to reconstruct it . . . A dab hand at fiction and editorship comes through once more, this time with a chockablock memoir fitted under the rubric of pastimes * * Kirkus Reviews * *