The English Understand Wool

Reviews

"A staggeringly intelligent examination into the nature of truth, love, respect, beauty and trust...This is that rare thing, or merle blanc, as maman might say: a perfect book. I've read it four times, which you can do between breakfast and lunch." — Nicola Shulman, The Times Literary Supplement

"Weighing in at just 64 pages, Helen DeWitt’s The English Understand Wool is a delight." — Mia Levitin, The Irish Times

"This is a short, sharp sliver of a story—only 64 pages—but every single word is pitch perfect… Think of it as the literary equivalent of a shot of ice-cold vodka—Belvedere or Grey Goose only, of course." — Lucy Scholes, Prospect

"For a wonderfully sideways take on the complex intersections between class, wealth and power—intersections that invariably favour those who have most of them already—I recommend reading The English Understand Wool, by the American writer Helen DeWitt." — Alex Clark, The Observer

"The English Understand Wool is Helen DeWitt’s best and funniest book so far – quite a feat given the standards set by the rest of her work… Its pages are rife with wicked pleasures. It incites and rewards re-reading." — Heather Cass White, The Times Literary Supplement

"Readers of Helen DeWitt’s limited previous output—two novels and a collection of stories in twenty-two years—will fall greedily on anything new. Her novella The English Understand Wool exceeds expectations." — John Self, The Critic