White Man Falling

White Man Falling is that rare and wondrous thing - a perfectly realized serious comic novel. That it is also a first novel makes it all the more extraordinary. - Sarah Dunant

It is the precision and originality of Mike Stocks's prose that makes this tragicomedy of Indian manners hard to put down and a joy to pick up. - Mark Amory, The Spectator

A warm-hearted comedy . . . Stocks's poetic background . . . manifests itself in beautiful turns of phrase . . . and in the interweaving of Indian English throughout the text. There is a vogue in contemporary fiction for leaping between characters and timeframes like a flea seeking a tasty host. White Man Falling is a reminder that a single location and perspective, and linear chronology, can be deeply satisfying. - The Times

The writing is witty and engaging . . . an entertaining read, with all the ingredients of a comedy of errors - confusion, deluded matchmaking, mystical absurdity. There are underlying metaphors, but the book is essentially a satire of the search for meaning in the meaningless. - The New Statesman

A witty and occasionally lyrical novel. - The Melbourne Age

A rare gem of a comic first novel . . . Mike Stocks's White Man Falling' set in fast-changing contemporary India' delivers an acute' affectionately observed satire on modern family life' police corruption and the power of religion. - The Independent