‘A beautiful period piece of 1980s Britain, as funny and sad as anything by Dunbar herself’ ~ Alex Preston, Observer (Books of the Year 2017)
‘It fizzes like two Disprin in a pint of cider. You can read it in an afternoon and should; there are too few British novels as effervescent and as relevant as this.’ ~Andy Miller, Spectator
‘A strikingly atmospheric novel which captures Dunbar’s experience of poverty and abuse, her quick wit and her flair as a playwright.’ ~ Chris Wiegand, Guardian
‘A brilliant fictionalised account of Dunbar’s short but turbulent life on the broken-down Bradford estate where she lived and died.’ ~ The Herald
‘This vivid debut novel tells the story of the ‘genius of the slums’, who grew up on Bradford’s Buttershaw estate and whose writing painted a blackly comic portrait of “Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down”.’ ~ New Statesman
‘Snaps and prickles and brings a talented, troubled woman to life… Dunbar’s energy and mischief bubble in the bleakness’ ~ Guardian
‘An elegant, loving, powerful book.’ ~ Caught by the River (Book of the Month)
‘Extraordinary’ ~ Michael Arditti, BBC R4 Saturday Review Podcast
‘It’s a bloody great book’ ~ Backlisted Podcast
Click here for reviews of Black Teeth and Brilliant Smile’s stage adaptation…
Andrea Dunbar’s Life Story to be Staged in Bradford Pub – Guardian | Interrogating the Past – This Year’s Gordon Burn Prize Shortlist – Foyles | Rita, Sue and Bob Too Today: Andrea Dunbar’s Truth Stills Haunts Us – Guardian | Fleet Acquires Andrea Dunbar-inspired Kitchen Sink Noir – Bookseller | I’m Drawn to Strong Women – Morning Star | The Genius we Never Discuss – Yorkshire Post | Rita, Sue and Bob Too: A Snapshot of 80s Britain – BBC News | You Make Your Own Culture – Minor Literatures | A Rollercoaster Ride through Bold Music – Guardian | John Grant’s North Atlantic Flux – Times & Financial Times | Andrea Dunbar: does the revival of interest in a working-class genius focus too much on her troubled personal life? – Independent | The story behind the Bradford playwright who wrote Rita, Sue and Bob Too – Yorkshire Post
