“An unstoppable stream of Ulster vernacular, bad taste, bad jokes, good jokes, dirty jokes and deadly-accurate social bathos ... Michael Foley’s novel must be the funniest book to have come out of Northern Ireland for a long time.”

“A genuinely funny book ... sharp, truthful and intelligent. Ultimately he is striking a blow for the value of ordinariness.”

“Michael Foley’s eloquent novel ... offers three powerful themes (a) the grind and compromises of midlife versus the proud expectations of youth, (b) the tension of being Irish in England and (c) adultery. Foley’s treatment of them proves by turns poignant, funny, informative.”

“From the first page I knew I was in for a treat. His style is sharp, funny and wryly observant, and this novel ... is original, daring and compulsive ... Such is Foley’s gift for humour and believable characterisation, that the reader becomes totally involved. ... His understanding of sex, and the reality of it, rather than a fantasised version, makes Beyond stand out from other novels.”