»That summer when you first fall in love can never be repeated. But this gem of a book somehow captures the sunbeams of youth and makes them shine brightly again.«

»Page by page, the reader grows more and more fond of the characters, sighing with the first-person narrator and wanting to give him a helping hand.«

»Outstanding dialogue, razor-sharp sentences, unspent stories within the story, and precisely detailed observations follow one after the other, unfurling with precision.«

»This book contains stunning truthfulness.«

»A book so natural in its abundance, it’s as though it wrote itself.«

»This novel sends the reader into the aforementioned state of euphancholy.«

»Sam’s development from inconspicuous nobody to self-determined young man is delicately drawn.«

»The ›wonderful years‹ of which Truman Capote wrote are captured here with all their magic. We suffer, love, hope with Sam.«

»All the characters in the novel are lovingly and precisely depicted.«

»Benedict Wells is an experienced writer with a feel for bipolar emotional worlds, for big dreams and subtle tragedy.«

»If it leaves you cold, you've obviously never been young.«

»This is wonderfully written. You live and suffer, cry and cheer with him. Outstanding!«

»But above all, with the tone of this novel Benedict Wells also summons the Americans’ high art of storytelling: cool, light-footed, laconic, passionate.«

»It [Hard Land] will bring many people comfort, laughter and tears. The fact that it’s great literature is actually irrelevant.«

»A wonderful coming-of-age novel, emotionally gripping and full of courage.«

»Anyone who doesn’t have a fridge where their heart should be will be captivated.«

»If one didn’t know better, one could think Hard Land was a centuries-old classic of coming-of-age literature.«

»A phase of life that is often mocked is given new value here, through sublimely talented characterisation.«

»Benedict Wells proves himself to be one of the best contemporary German-language authors.«

»There can be no doubt that, with this title, Benedict Wells has become the successor to the world’s greatest coming-of-age novel, Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.«

»With Hard Land, Benedict Wells has once again achieved a moving blend of humour and emotion, as universally impressive as the genre promises.«

»This book is carefully narrated, and despite the sometimes tough themes, there are no heavy collisions; many goose bumps, but no barrage of effects.«

»Sam, familiar with the tones of fear and pain, learns what thoughtfulness, trust, and respect sound like.«

»Wells' latest creation tells a coming-of-age story in such a way that you would think the author is American.«

»Through his linguistic style and themes, Benedict Wells succeeds in deeply moving the reader, taking them on an emotional journey full of ups and downs.«

»As the reader familiar with Wells will know, he removes layer by layer, and shows us his characters’ innermost workings with the greatest empathy.«

»Each scene appears before one’s eye in true technicolor. Relishing, comforting popcorn delight.«

»Some heavy topics are being dealt with in this otherwise quite light-footed novel. Sam’s grieving process and the tough passage toward adulthood are convincingly depicted.«

»If you want to convince a young person that reading is fun, you’d best offer him a book by Benedict Wells.«

»With Hard Land Wells proves his ability for cinematic writing. By a scratch of a pen he puts down true-to-life characters in a refined language.«