"Gwendoline Riley's work recasts our relationship with the familiar, transforming ordinary, unremarkable lives of her characters into something startling and new."
"Her stories are not structured around linear plots; nothing much happens, but Riley's disquieting acuity and her spare and unsparing prose makes them shimmer with tension."
"She has a phenomenal ear for dialogue, for the myriad ways in which people unknowingly lay themselves bare, both in what they say and, more agonisingly, in what they don't or can't."
"The result is a slim, impeccably controlled story that contains multitudes, with moments of tenderness so exquisitely and exactly rendered that they are almost too intense."
In The Palm House, a dust storm from the Sahara envelops London, creating an unsettling atmosphere. Gwendoline Riley's characters, often female writers, navigate complex relationships, with themes of disconnection and familial struggles. Her protagonists face abusive marriages and difficult maternal relationships, while her narratives lack linear plots. Riley's writing is marked by disquieting acuity, sharp dialogue, and a blend of humor and despair. The influence of Penelope Fitzgerald is evident in the subtler, elegiac tone of The Palm House, showcasing moments of exquisite tenderness.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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