'Davina Quinlivan is a writer of rare gentleness and insight: in Shalimar she winds us into the skein of her extended diasporic family, expressing the complexity of identity today. Deftly she weaves back and forth in time as she braids these memories, in a sustained, observant, poetic act of attention -- and love. ' Marina Warner, author of Inventory of a Life Mislaid, Once Upon a Time: a Short History of Fairy Tale and The Lost Father 'Shalimar is dreamlike and full of sensation - Quinlivan constellates memory, place and belonging with such rarely-seen subtlety. This is a book that will weave its way into your thoughts and stay with you.' Jessica J. Lee, author of Two Trees Make a Forest 'A haunted archive, a casket full of memories, myths and dreams. A strange and startling cargo of ancestors brought vividly to life by a magician.' Jeff Young, author of Costa shortlisted Ghost Town 'Evocative and heartfelt.

' Helena Lee, Harper's Bazaar and editor-founder of East Side Voices 'Like the rest of us, Quinlivan's life is an outflowing of the influences of her family history. Unlike most of us, she is able to express this profound truth in achingly beautiful prose.' Psychogeographic Review 'Moving, lyrical, personal and immensely readable.' International Times.