The Draughtsman

Reviews / Votes

Praise for THE DRAUGHTSMAN:


'Absolutely exceptional. So beautifully written, with precision and wisdom and real emotional acuity. The horrors are illuminated and rendered on a human scale by Lautner's wonderfully gripping narrative, drawing me in to the intimate story of Ernst and Etta, and their very affecting portrayal as individuals caught up in larger events. With outrage and tenderness he describes a moment in time most of us would say we knew too much about already - and sheds new light on it. A remarkable achievement.' Stephen Kelman, author of PIGEON ENGLISH


'Gripping from beginning to end, The Draughtsman is a highly accomplished second novel ... one of [its] greatest strengths is in offering a human side to the instigators of oppression and suffering, making each character even more complex and fascinating to pore over ... Lautner skilfully links history with the present, and offers a beautifully written, painful reminder that history is often bound to repeat itself' IRISH INDEPENDENT


Praise for THE ROAD TO RECKONING:


'It's a thrilling, violent, dangerous piece of old-fashioned storytelling that is also humane and unshowily moving' THE TIMES


'A compelling read: wise, touching and with just the right amount of gun fights'
NATHAN FILER, author of The Shock of the Fall


'As simply told tales go, this is one of the best. It shares with its hero a plain eloquence and a determination and a grace rare in the world and in books. Give The Road to Reckoning to every man you know and they'll thank you for it' JOSHUA FERRIS, author of the Man Booker-shortlisted To Rise Again at a Decent Hour


'This quiet triumph of a novel, a sad and impeccably nuanced tale set against a finely drawn landscape of early pioneer America, left me just amazed and delighted: it will surely establish Robert Lautner as a storyteller of the first order' SIMON WINCHESTER, author of Atlantic: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories