Reviews for The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually
“Such a true gift of a novel, with its sumptuous forward momentum, and rare precision, and inspired imagery. The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually generates a very bright light, one that is human, graceful, and healing. It's an absolute pleasure to read.” - Sebastian Barry, Laureate for Irish Fiction.
“A beautiful bittersweet story of love, loss and families all set in the most irresistible of locations. Tears were shed!” - Graham Norton
’A moving and powerful novel from one of Ireland’s finest new writers’’ - John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies
“A beautiful story. I was gripped and held in a state of love for all the characters” - Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit and Tin Man
“A tender and unflinching exploration of mental illness and how it can eat into the heart of a family. Full of empathy and genuinely moving, a novel that will stay with me for a long time” - Christine Dwyer Hickey, author of The Narrow Land
“A compassionate portrayal of love, support and grief, The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually contains moments so recognisable to anyone who has suffered from depression that credit must be given to Cullen for depicting mental illness in all its senseless brutality while never exploiting it for sentimental reasons.” - Irish Times
“Cullen’s writing is precise, haunting and, above all, beautiful. Her descriptions – from the minutiae of the Moone’s home to the mood of the nearby sea – are masterfully constructed. However, it is the author’s attention to the complexities of human emotion, and their various expressions, that really marks The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually as a book of rare quality.” - iPaper
"Cullen’s atmospheric novel captures beautifully the continuity of life even at times of deepest grief. If we avoid tragedy in literature, we’re closing ourselves off to some of the most powerful and moving writing, as exemplified by Helen Cullen’s second novel which deals delicately and humanely with the subjects of mental health and the ravaging effects of grief.”- Business Post.
“An intriguingly titled story that tackles weighty themes with an epic reach” - The RTÉ Guide
“An honest meditation on love and motherhood” - Irish Independent
“Intensely moving, beautifully written and drenched in Irish atmosphere this novel asks brave and thoughtful questions about mental health and suicide” - Daily Mail
"Absolute poetry and a love letter to family and to the arts. Such a gift in these times. The depiction of depression is as accurate as any I’ve read and the empathy in this book is beautiful.” - Maggie Smith, Author of Good Bones and Keep Moving.
"A beautifully observed saga of abandoned dreams, loss and self-discovery. A fabulous creation.” - Alan McGonagle, Author of Ithaca
"A perfect combination of deeply-felt tragedy with great hopefulness” - Anne Youngson, Author of Meet me at the Museum.
"Cullen’s beautifully-observed novel 'The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually' charts a family across 37 years, living through a tragedy on a remote island; portraying mental health and the fall-out around it with enormous humanity and integrity. Tonally reminiscent of recent Colm Tóibín.”- Caoilinn Hughes, Author of The Orchid and The Wasp and The Wild Laughter.
“A beautiful novel - Helen Cullen writes with such deft care and attention about the things that hold us together when everything falls apart."- Rónán Hession, Author of Leonard and Hungry Paul.
"I devoured this, falling in love with the setting and with every character - and when I reached the end, I wept because it is just glorious. #TheTruthMustDazzleGradually is a sweeping family saga and at the same time, a close-up on the everyday beautiful details that make up love.” - Emma Flint, Author of Little Deaths.
“Helen Cullen is so wonderful on the Irish family and the utter complexity of motherhood, family entanglement and love. I was full on weeping at the end.”- Elaine Feeney, Author of As You Were.
“The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually 'is such a tender read. Astute and compassionate, it made me cry. It’s full of love. And it’s quietly magnificent.” - Tor Udall, Author of A Thousand Paper Birds.
“In The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually, Cullen has woven a powerful and poignant narrative told over a lifetime; exploring unconditional love, heartbreak and the beautiful flaws of human nature set within a family unit. She is an astute and empathic writer and an incredible voice in Irish literature. You'll fall in love with the Moone family and they will linger in your heart long after you read the final pages.’’ - Cat Hogan, Author of They All Fall Down and There Was A Crooked Man.
"Powerful, intimate, moving - a beautiful exploration of love and family"- Maria Dickenson, M.D. Dubray Books.
“Every once in a while I get to read an ARC that blows me away. The forthcoming #TheTruthMustDazzleGradually is a remarkable book.” - Joy Rhoades, Author of The Woolgrower’s Companion.
“The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is a superb second novel that goes to places you mightn't expect but which ultimately end up making a great deal of sense. It touches on a lot thematically and doesn't ever suggest that any one life path can be a cure for severe mental illness and it does some things that... are very pleasing indeed. It's a tougher read than Cullen's first novel which is not to say that it's *bleak*, but it's a harder-won sort of hope. I had a LOT OF FEELINGS. - Claire Hennessy, Author and Editor of Banshee Journal
“One of my books of the year. Gorgeous!” – Rick O’Shea - RTÉ
"The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually is an extremely moving read. Cullen handles the complexities of love, grief, family life and mental illness with sensitivity and depth. A truly gorgeous novel.” - Ali Land, Author of Good Me, Bad Me.
Reviews for The Lost Letters of William Woolf
"A charming romantic caper. William Woolf, a thirty-something Englishman working in the dead letters depot of London, is the latest in a tribe of unlikely heroes. Delightful” - Sunday Times
“The soul- searching Lost Letters of William Woolf is a must-read” - Stylist
“Enchanting, intriguing, deeply moving. The Lost Letters of William Woolf concerns itself as much with lost love as it does with lost letters”- Irish Times
“If you liked Harold Fry and Me Before You, you will love Helen Cullen's nostalgic debut. With its themes of love, romance and frustrated hopes, this life-affirming book will draw you in and keep you there” - Independent
“Wonderfully warm-hearted and quirky” - Good Housekeeping
"This moving treatise on love and the art of letter writing will leave readers eager for more from this very talented writer.” - Booklist (U.S.) (Starred Review)
"The Lost Letters of William Woolf is an entertaining and enriching novel that is capable of inducing in the reader acute apprehensions of the complexities of our inner lives, and of the inner lives of others” - The National
“Whimsical, wistful tale of love and longing” - Mail on Sunday
“This debut novel enchants and captivates. William Woolf has what seems to be the best job in the world: he works at the Dead Letters Depot, where he dedicates his life to reuniting letters and parcels that do not have a proper address with their intended recipients. Honest yet lyrical, Cullen's characters are drawn with sympathy. Lose yourself in the whimsy” TheScotsman
“A beautifully written story” - Prima
“Is it love or fantasy which is tormenting him? An original, refreshing novel about lost love and whether the grass is greener on the other side” - Daily Mail
“Once in a while a book comes along that captures your heart, and this one charmed me from the first page . . . An enchanting and bittersweet exploration of what love really means” - Maria Dickenson, Managing Director, Dubray Books
"An effortlessly assured debut about how finding a lost letter and a twist of fate can make you question whether the love of your life is really meant for you after all..." - Rick O’Shea – RTE Broadcaster
‘What a brilliant book. I couldn’t put it down’ - Larry Gogan, RTE Broadcaster
“Book of the Month - A perfect poolside read. Read if you liked Rachel Joyce, Alison Moore or Naomi Banoran” - U Magazine
“A strong debut. Cullen’s great strength is the way she writes so movingly about how day-to-day life can chip away at a once-solid relationship until it crumbles.” - Belfast Telegraph
“A fantastic debut about the vital importance of the written word. Watch The Lost Letters of William Woolf become a big hit” - Hot Press Magazine
“The Must- Read” - Irish Tatler
“Cullen presents readers with the mundane reality of “happily ever after” and how real life can undermine the greatest of romances. The novel is realistic without being grim and offers hope for change and transformation.” - Sunday Independent
“The Lost Letters of William Woolf is a beautiful novel, more so because at times it feels like a book out of time, capitalising on the nostalgia of a time before smartphones, emails and Google. It is a remarkably refreshing read and certainly an interesting one – and it’s a debut work that marks Helen Cullen as an author worth watching.” - Culturefly
"A love-letter to letters and a brilliantly written, moving homage to the power of words, The Lost Letters of William Woolf celebrates the magic of pen and paper." - Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop
"A wonderful debut, a quirky romance with believable characters celebrating the untold and half-told stories all around us.” - Jess Kidd, Author of Himself and The Hoarder.
“A spellbinding novel. Compelling, lyrical and deeply moving” - Caroline Busher, bestselling author of The Ghosts of Magnificent Children
“Gorgeous. Packed full of romance and longing, the writing pulls you in and doesn't let go until the very last page. I was so sad to finish it” - Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me Bad Me
"I LOVED this book. If you want a beautifully written story of love, loss, heartache, thwarted dreams and how to negotiate relationships as they change over time, this one's for you. A lyrical exploration of things said and unsaid, and the spaces between lives." - Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths
"A wise, imaginative and heart-warming novel about the limits of love, the allure of new romance and the lost art of letter writing." -Luiza Sauma, author of Flesh and Bone and Water
“Generous, surprising, full of heart, Cullen’s debut leaves you flooded with warmth and gratitude for all the love letters you ever received and pure regret for all the ones you never sent” - Ruth Gilligan, author of A Thousand Folds Make a Paper Swan
"An enchanting, lyrical page-turner and an ode to London, love, Dublin and everything in between." - Joy Rhoades, international bestselling author of The Woolgrower's Companion
"A rip-roaring, peripatetic tale of love, but also self-discovery set against the backdrop of 1980s London and with hints of The Shop Around the Corner. Helen Cullen is an undeniable new talent, whose words stayed with me long after I had read them." - Alba Arikha, author of Major/Minor and Where To Find Me
“A novel to get lost in. Warm and funny and set in a world that is both recognisable and completely the talented Helen Cullen's own.” - Clare Fisher, author of All the Good Things
"A gorgeous love story about the multitude of possibilities and choices in our lives-and how by saying hello to one path, we say goodbye to another. The lost stories in the Dead Letters Depot moved me greatly. A delightfully romantic and original debut." - Tor Udall, author of A Thousand Paper Birds
“A beautiful story celebrating life, love and letters. This is a luminous debut.” - Phaedra Patrick, author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper