At her best, Alexander writes with a brash, comic, and socially sensitive touch that recalls Carol Shields. This isn't hip, trendy, urban writing. It is unflinching, vivid, and frequently domestic.
`Joan Alexander is one of those writers who can find humour in dark places, can sympathize with her characters even when they are behaving foolishly, perhaps because they are behaving foolishly. She understands pain and loss and longing, but she writes with clarity and directness. She doesn't sentimentalize, and she doesn't shy away. Surely, she is a writer to watch, which is to say, a writer to read, a writer who rewards reading.'