The Kindness - Hardcover

Cumulatively addictive: intriguing, cleverly structured, lyrical without pretension and thoroughly engrossing ... The book is hard to put down. I finished this story of loss, lies and flawed communication at two in the morning, desperate to know the truth. As a second novel, this really was worth the wait
- Sunday Times
Dark, sensual and clever. I loved this book so much I finished it then started re-reading it to see how she did it
- Jojo Moyes
Lush, lyrical prose ... The Kindness is to be read more than once, not merely to enjoy again the beauty of the writing and the considerable insights into human experience, but to test the earlier narrative with the knowledge of what is to come
- Independent
It is a beautifully-written and intricately-constructed piece of writing; shining, poetic and sumptuous; a portrait of a sunlit lake, which at any moment may reveal itself to be the scene of a tragedy. Polly Samson is a writer of great insight and sensitivity; her novel is moving, wistful, wise and ultimately hopeful; grown-up in all the right ways, but still with a simplicity that comes directly from the heart
- Joanne Harris
A gorgeously chilling novel about grief and betrayal, with writing so visual and gripping that I can picture the house at the centre of the drama, Firdas, almost as well as if I had grown up there myself. Samson seems to write in colours, and fans of her 2010 short story collection Perfect Lives will find this novel well worth the wait
- Independent on Sunday
Samson is a richly sensory writer ... A sumptuous, serious story about how an act of immense love can at the same time be one of terrible betrayal, and how we deceive ourselves as much as we deceive one another
- Daily Mail
Densely plotted, dynamic domestic thriller
- Guardian
A compelling, insightfully told tale
- Mail on Sunday
There are some really clever structural tricks to this wistful story. Samson writes beautifully particularly about nature and her deceptively simple narrative produces a smart and torrid tale of the consequences of sexual obsession and jealousy --- Sunday Mirror

Compelling ... Atmospheric and vividly told, the book is a poignant examination of love, guilt, betrayal and the deception that can lie at the heart of every relationship Tatler
- Tatler
Family proves far from idyllic in this poetic, sensual story of betrayal and lies. Writer and lyricist Samson s prose is dazzlingly evocative, as she explores how relationships are rarely what they seem
- Glamour
Secrets and misunderstandings fuel Polly Samson s involving, melancholy and cleverly constructed second novel ... This is a mature and haunting novel about love and loss that asks if we all, in the end, see what we want to see ****
- Metro
This is elegant, witty writing, informed throughout by generosity and wise perceptiveness. Dealing with many kinds of love, and with misunderstanding, betrayal, grief and forgiveness, the novel dares to posit, ultimately, the possibility of redemption. It is a book to cherish, to recommend, to return to
- FT Weekend
It may not begin like a thriller, but it produces, without warning, some of the twists and reverses of one ... Lush, lyrical prose ... A wringing evocation of grief ... All this Samson recounts while moving dextrously back and forth in time, sustaining a single, seamless narrative, though it s vital for the reader to stay alert. We bask in the charming, genteel, bohemian sensibility of her writing. Woven into it, however, like a sinister black thread, is the heart-wrenching account of Mira s long struggle with cancer. Then, two-thirds of the way through the novel, comes the mother of all twists ... A most satisfying and believable ending. The Kindness is to be read more than once, not merely to enjoy again the beauty of the writing and the considerable insights into human experience, but to test the earlier narrative with the knowledge of what is to come
- Independent
Beautifully written and plotted with serpentine cunning, Samson s novel is what might be called a love story for adults: unsentimental, at times harsh, but ultimately uplifting
- Mail on Sunday
The Kindness is cumulatively addictive: intriguing, cleverly constructed, lyrical without pretension and thoroughly engrossing ... Samson s descriptions of Firdaws and the countryside are particularly transporting, but Julia, understandably, is less keen on this rural idyll, not least because she has to work in London, leaving the childcare to Julian ... We see the same events (a romantic trip to Paris, the purchase of Firdaws, Mira s sickness) from Julia s perspective, filling in some crucial details until, slowly, it all makes sense. A couple of later plot twists do take a leap of faith, but they feel manageable because, by this time, the book is hard to put down. I finished this story of loss, lies and flawed communication at two in the morning, desperate to know the truth. As a second novel, this was really worth the wait
- Sunday Times
Another sublime slice of prose about love -- - Good Housekeeping

A heartbreakingly beautiful novel from one of Britain's finest and most acclaimed talents