‘This is a big book, and almost Dickensian in its scope, with walk-on parts for Peter Thiel and the central bank officials that kept the world from sliding into financial Armageddon during the 2008 crash. But wide-angle plot doesn’t stop it from being very moving at times’ GQ
‘A romp through the 21st century via two bright young people – but beyond all the money and success Drayton and Mackenzie is really about friendship’ – Laura Hackett, Sunday Times
‘A big, bustling novel about love, friendship, money, ambition and the 21st century, packed with humour and intelligent observations … picture Great Expectations meets The Big Short … I finished it tear-stained … An epic tale of ambition and male friendship’ – Sunday Times
‘Will have you hooked … an ode to the enduring power of male friendship’ – The Times Best Summer Books
‘A heart-warming story of a friendship that is very much of its times’ – Mail on Sunday
‘Drayton and Mackenzie is simultaneously a breathtaking conspectus of the 21st century, an exciting rags-to-riches adventure and a deeply moving story of male friendship. A novel has not done so much so well since Michael Chabon’s friendship epic, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay … the real delight of Drayton and Mackenzie is the relationship of its leads. This evolves as you’d expect — beginning in incomprehension and developing into something unbreakable — yet is so beautifully done, I’ll admit my vision wasn’t the clearest by the end. (Seriously, if you thought Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies was sad . . .) I don’t know how Starritt is going to top this one’ – Financial Times
‘An epic masterpiece encompassing some of the most pivotal points of our century … a powerful, poignant and frequently funny rags-to-riches adventure that plunges readers to the seabed off Orkney before blasting into the stars above Sutherland’ – Sunday Post
‘Outstanding … James Drayton is a powerhouse brain unable to connect with others, while Roland Mackenzie is charm-positive but can’t quite get his act together. Without ever really intending, they entwine their lives to defy their business detractors, create an extraordinary friendship and pursue the enigma of tidal power to a pioneering conclusion. A novel like no other – awards await’ – Strong Words
‘One of Starritt’s many skills is how he ratchets up the poignancy, creating real characters rather than caricatures’ – The Spectator
‘Deft and engaging … A thoughtful study of male friendship’ – Evening Standard
‘I could not put it down … This gripping story raises a question: Why are so few business novels being written?’ – Adrian Wooldridge, Bloomberg
‘Alexander Starritt can write as elegantly as Alan Hollinghurst and as fluently as Jonathan Coe. It is the prose that keeps us turning the pages of this epic novel of friendship and twenty-first-century life’ – TLS
‘My book of the summer … this tale of two very different young men who together build a company is sweeping, clever, deeply researched and very funny … It is also that rare thing, a book that is positive (but clear-eyed) about those fashionably maligned beings, men’ – Janice Turner, The Times
‘A warmly comic saga of male friendship … This tale of two entrepreneurs dips into the perspectives of real-life tech moguls, with thrilling results’ – Guardian
‘Drawn with amazing realism and detail … making the sweep of history profoundly personalIrish Times
‘Two very different men, James and Roland, meet as young adults. Both seek success, first as management consultants, then as entrepreneurs in the field of green energy. As they navigate private pain and the turmoil of the global financial crash of 2007-09, they increasingly value their friendship. Both characters are expertly drawn in this funny, touching story’ – The Economist
‘The book’s raw portrayal of entrepreneurial uncertainty and ambition struck me deep — that building a lasting brand is as much about resilience and creativity as it is about strategy and execution. Sometimes the best lessons come from simply trying, learning, failing fast and moving forward’ – Falguni Nayar, Bloomberg Books of the Year
‘This is a big book, and almost Dickensian in its scope, with walk-on parts for Peter Thiel and the central bank officials that kept the world from sliding into financial Armageddon during the 2008 crash. But wide-angle plot doesn’t stop it from being very moving at times’ – GQ Books of the Year
