“This absorbing tale of loss unfurls like a rippling bolt of silk, keeping the reader enthralled through to the devastating denouement.”

“The Seven-Year Atomic Make-Over Guide is a refreshing collection — accessible, entertaining and infused with the improvisational energies of a writer who refuses to play it safe.”

“Bell broadens her canvas to take in the whole of modern life. And she does so with energy, depth and a fearless mastery of the short-story form.”

“What you have been reading turns out to be a profound little parable about the redemptive power of love. And when you put it down - with wadded-up hankies surrounding the foot of your chair, I might add - it is with the same feeling that you leave the great Fellini film ‘’Amarcord’’: you have glimpsed a simple human truth, brilliantly stated. And it will linger in your mind for a long time. As far as Christine Bell is concerned, all you have to remember is this: she has the magic touch.”

“Saint’’ gives us some high comedy laced with the lessons of sexual warfare.”

“A brilliant first novel…Extraordinary”