"This book is going to be a hit, and can only consolidate Duffy's position as one of the most widely read British poets of her generation." - Robert Crawford, "Herald". "It sparkes with wit, intelligence and an impressive lightness of touch, while drawing on some weighty emotional experiences: loneliness, jealousy, self-loathing, desire, the fierceness of a mother's love." - Christina Patterson, "Independent". "She reveals the foibles of the great, the ghastly and the ordinary bloke and the sufferings of those closest to them. The result is a melange of history lesson, fairy-tale and modern-day domestic tragedy, with the occasional joke thrown in for good measure...Duffy's poetics are flawless - she never misses a beat, her pace is exhilarating, and her language is original and exciting." - "Scotsman". "These thirty poems vibrate with intense colloquialisms, physicality, energy, freshness and cheek. Many of them are very funny...the best are inventive, subversive and written with great rhythmical and rhyming dash."