Loot

Tania James Press Reviews

A thrilling, absorbing and immersive tale of artistry, adventure and romance -- Claire Fuller Strongly recommending this exquisitely crafted and rich historical story to everyone I know . . . Tania James has created such a visceral, powerful story that it felt like I was in a time travelling machine -- Nikita Gill Addictively absorbing - New York Times Book Review

Loot held me spellbound from the first page. This is an expertly-plotted, deeply affecting novel about war, displacement, emigration, and an elusive mechanical tiger. -- Maggie O’Farrell I read Loot in a single sitting; it is a wild, dazzling eighteenth-century romp across continents with profound things to say about invention and self-reinvention, class and fate, and the deeply human hunger to create family as both bulwark against loneliness and constant source of light and warmth. -- Lauren Groff A novel of wonder and terror and beauty - I was completely captivated by it. -- Kamila Shamsie Loot is the most transporting and absorbing novel I've read in ages-a rich tapestry of an epic, thrilling at every turn. This isn't just brilliant writing: It's storytelling of the highest order. -- Rebecca Makkai A luminous novel of history that explores the far reaches of empire and of human desire, of love, greed, betrayal, and possible redemption. In this genuine page-turner, Tania James does the seemingly impossible: not only does she breathe life into charismatic characters, she repeats the feat with automatons, for crying out loud. Tipu's Tiger might be a stolen artifact in a British museum, but you can hear its roar in these pages. Loot is a historical story that bristles with contemporary urgency. -- Rabih Alameddine Loot is lovingly drawn and compulsively readable, with all the pleasures and detail of stellar historical fiction - Vulture

Captivating . . . James is a master miniaturist who can create the illusion of a saga in a chapter. And she's not afraid to radically reset the novel's place and tone. Her pages feel as full as a 19th-century bildungsroman, with collapsing kingdoms, sailing ships and elaborate schemes . . . And her prose is lush with the sights, sounds and smells of India, France and England, and always laced with Dickensian wit - The Washington Post