The Fell

“A study in repression and displacement, Moss’s defiantly uneventful novel [is] a psychological thriller.”—Lidija Haas, The New York Times Book Review

“Sarah Moss delivers . . . Thought-provoking and timely.”—Angela Haupt, Time

“The Fell is a funny, savage novel about the very recent past, and seems to do the impossible: hold a story that is still unfolding immobile enough to integrate into fiction.”—Emma Brockes, The Guardian

“The Fell explores the way individual freedom conflicts with collective responsibility . . . [It] crystalizes our shared moment of global danger and allows us to observe its different facets.”—Hannah Joyner, Star Tribune

“[The Fell] exhibits truths and contradictions, and it contains a succinct, self-contained story that, simultaneously, encapsulates an author’s whole oeuvre.”—Marcie McCauley, Chicago Review of Books

“A page-turner descended from the classic literature of the dire straits and extreme solitude of shipwreck, a cousin to Emma Donoghue’s Room.”—Ellen Prentiss Campbell, Washington Independent Review of Books

“One of the very best British novelists writing today about contemporary life—if anyone can justify writing a pandemic novel, she's the woman for the job.”—Lucy Scholes, The Telegraph

“Indeed, one of the most profoundly unsettling attributes of The Fell is the way it questions that elemental source of human succour: storytelling . . . ‘Accumulating dread’ is what Moss atomises so brilliantly here but it should be added that this is also a very funny book.”—Hepzibah Anderson, The Observer

“Astonishing . . . [Moss’s] work is as close to perfect as a novelist’s can be.”—Sarah Ditum, The Times

“[A novel] with great evocative power . . . Piercing.”—Laura Hackett, The Sunday Times

“If there was any doubt whether the pandemic would inspire literature that will endure beyond the crisis, The Fell, a slender but illuminating lightning strike of a book, should put that to rest.”—Lisa Henricksson, Air Mail

“Absorbing . . . Ingeniously done . . . There’s an intoxicating flow to much of the writing . . . A humane, thoughtful reflection on the lockdown experience.”—Roger Cox, The Scotsman

“Quiet yet deeply moving . . . Moss shines in creating the stream of consciousness of fully-realized, distinct characters.”—Kelly Roark, Newcity Lit

“Humorous, lyrical, and reflective.”—Erica Ezeifedi, Book Riot

“There is always the electric touch of danger lacing its fingers through [Moss’s work] . . . It’s the end of the world, seen from a particular angle only the incisive Sarah Moss could show us.”—Katie Yee, Lit Hub

“A slim, tense page-turner that captures the weird melancholia of locked-down life but also the precious warmth of human connection. I gulped down The Fell in one sitting.”—Emma Donoghue, author of The Pull of the Stars

“Sarah Moss seems to have achieved the impossible: she has written a gripping, thoughtful, and revelatory book about lockdown.”—Paula Hawkins, author of A Slow Fire Burning

“There is wit, there is compassion, there is a tension that builds like a pressure cooker. This slim, intense masterpiece is one of my best books of the year.”—Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson’s Beetle

“A masterfully tense, deeply empathetic novel about lives stilled and reexamined, and the uncertainty and danger of the world that surrounds them. I was completely riveted by the central questions of its narrative, and by its tender, insightful exploration of the times we are living through.”—Megan Hunter, author of The End We Start From

“Expertly woven . . . This portrait of humans and their neighboring wild creatures in their natural landscape and in their altered world is darkly humorous, arrestingly honest, and intensely lyrical . . . A triumph of economy and insight.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A swift, nuanced tale about converging lives over the course of one evening during a pandemic lockdown . . . Timely and moving.”—Leah Strauss, Booklist