You Will Be Safe Here - Tapa dura

Barr's writing has a lightness of touch and warm humour which makes it easy to root for him ... His life has become a triumph (OBSERVER)

A searing debut (THE TIMES)

A stunning dissection of human barbarism . It tells a story so powerful and upsetting that it's a wonderful reminder of how fiction can illuminate the indignities visited upon those the world has mistreated and then forgotten (JOHN BOYNE IRISH TIMES)

This is a book that tilts the world, showing how the actions of the past can never be fully escaped by the present (STYLIST)

Packs a hefty emotional punch ... Extraordinary (BIG ISSUE)

A poignant debut, written with empathy ... Barr's first novel is distinguished by its compassion, its wisdom and its remarkable sense of poetry (GUARDIAN)

The harsh poetry of the land anchors the text, its red earth stretching out beneath starlit stillness, unchanging from generation to generation . By its end, so many instinctive responses will have been upturned that the reader will be left with just two certainties: that the circularity of man's cruelty to his fellow human beings is endless, and that only kindness is stronger (OBSERVER)

A devastating novel about the destruction of childhood which visits a little known part of South Africa's recent shameful history ... Damian writes beautifully and wears his research lightly, in this most affecting of novels (KIRSTY WARK)

Completely gripping and profoundly moving - you care for every character. Each of the very different stories is deeply affecting and they're woven together in such unexpected and powerful ways. Barr handles the most difficult material with the lightest touch (MAGGIE O'FARRELL)

Damian Barr's fine first novel wears its research lightly and animates two very different eras with impressive skill. The main characters are all convincing and the overarching theme - that people can do monstrous things with the best of intentions - is explored with intelligence and passion (MAIL ON SUNDAY)