‘Exile hinges on a brave and clever conceit: What if an advocacy group rescued the wrong dissident?.... There are a number or ironies author Ann Ireland could have overworked in this novel, and few would have complained, given the strength of dialogue, pacing and description. Instead she spaces her moments of revelation and insight, her writing an exemplar of restraint and confidence.’ Toronto Star
‘Ireland’s writing has remarkable humour, and gentle but unshying insight into character. As a past president of PEN, no doubt she’s heard tales to make one shudder.’... ‘The consequent unravelling of his (Carlos’s) Canadian experience makes for an unusual and often delightful portrait of an artist-in-exile who’s a kind of literary Homer Simpson.’ Globe and Mail
‘.... readers with an interest in post-colonial literature will find Ireland’s sensitive portrayal of how ‘the other’ views and treats ‘the other’ wry in some places, disturbing in others and provocative throughout.’ ‘This is a wise, funny, sad, and compassionate book.’ Books in Canada
‘A quietly subversive and very funny skewering of campus and left-liberal politics, Ann Ireland’s EXILE tells the tragicomic story of exiled poet and journalist Carlos Romero Estevez.... The construct allows Ireland to look at Canada through an outsider’s eyes, and the observations are often withering and dead on. Quill and Quire
‘Exile is a tour de force. I haven’t been so amused and appalled by a fictional character since reading Vladimir Nabakov’s Pnin..... To see ourselves as others see us, is a gift indeed.’ Hamilton Spectator
‘...an impressive and thoughtful novel about culture, expectations and captivity. ... demonstrates a writer fully in control of her material and powerfully moved to shape that material into a page-turning testimony to truth.’ Edmonton Journal
‘As readers, we can note the follies of all the characters. Every gesture is infused with meaning, every line of dialogue can be interpreted and misinterpreted. EXILE is social commentary at its subtle and witty best.’ Vancouver Sun
