…spending time in the company of Yoli, a 40-something woman alternately busy with the work of caring for various family members and screwing up her own life, was the main reason I loved the book…All My Puny Sorrows is irresistible. The flashbacks to Yoli and Elf's childhood in a rural Mennonite community are vivid and energetic. In both the past and present, Toews…perfectly captures the casual manner in which close-knit sisters enjoy and irritate each other. The dialogue is realistic and funny, and somehow, almost magically, Toews gets away with having her characters discuss things like books and art and the meaning of life without seeming pretentious or precious; they're simply smart, decent and confused…All My Puny Sorrows is unsettling, because how can a novel about suicide not be? But its intelligence, its honesty and, above all, its compassion provide a kind of existential balm—a comfort not unlike the sort you might find by opening a bottle of wine and having a long conversation with…a true friend.

“Irresistible… its intelligence, its honesty and, above all, its compassion provide a kind of existential balm-a comfort not unlike the sort you might find by opening a bottle of wine and having a long conversation with (yes, really) a true friend.” —Curtis Sittenfeld, The New York Times Book Review

“In the crucible of [Miriam Toews'] genius, tears and laughter are ground into some magical elixir that seems like the essence of life.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“[A] wrenchingly honest, darkly funny novel. (Grade: A)” —Entertainment Weekly

“Bold, brash and big-hearted.... Toews writes from the point of view of Yoli, whose interior monologue reads like a cross between David Foster Wallace and Robin Williams if both were, in fact, a 40-something Mennonite woman with authority issues. She's a smart aleck with heart, a philosopher with a comic's timing.” —The Dallas Morning News

“Toews (Irma Voth) does a wonderful job with her characters, none of whom are perfect, which makes them all the more real. It requires a talented author to take a serious subject and write such an engaging, enjoyable work.” —Library Journal (starred)

“Touching and unexpectedly humorous.” —Marie Claire

“The novel, which is essentially about complex family relationships, is heartbreaking and ultimately forgiving, as Yolandi wonders what courage is needed to end a life versus the courage it takes to endure. You'll want to call your sister or your mom after finishing.” —Bustle

“[A] sad, wise, often funny and very good novel.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“'All My Puny Sorrows' is a bittersweet story about those who survive and those who can't fight the current.” —Minneapolis StarTribune

“[A] triumph in its depiction of the love the sisters share.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“[A] masterful, original investigation into love, loss and survival.” —Kirkus (Starred Review)

“All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews: The premise of Toews's sixth novel, released to critical acclaim in Canada earlier this year, is simple and devastating: there are two adult sisters, and one of them wants to die. She's a wildly successful and in-demand concert pianist, but she longs for self-annihilation. It's a premise that could easily be grindingly unbearable, but Toews is a writer of considerable subtlety and grace, with a gift for bringing flashes of lightness, even humor, to the darkest of tales.” —The Millions

“Funny and irresistibly warm” —Isaac Fitzgerald, BuzzFeed

“A harrowing and often very funny novel ... Every page yields a surprise, a laugh, or a line that will make your breath catch in your throat.” —Dan Kois, Slate

“As jagged and ripped open as a freshly torn heart.” —The Boston Globe

“Thanks to the prodigious talent of author Miriam Toews, "All My Puny Sorrows" is an off-kilter, frequently funny and begrudgingly life-affirming romp through, well, death…. a novel with such wincingly painful honesty and mordant humor.” —Los Angeles Times