Independent on Sunday: “Reading this really well-written book, I genuinely felt I was living Harriet’s life with her.” Five Stars.
Observer: “Harriet is a great character – fantastically clever, arrogant, socially inept and likely to refer to Kant at inopportune moments. There should be lots more books…with heroines who idolise Marcus Aurelius.”
Independent: “Diana Janney creates in Harriet Rose a young heroine who is beautiful, confident, clever, successful and much loved as well as loving…..the young author’s attempts to publicise her book maintain interest as well as providing more than a few laughs… refreshing.”
Bookseller: “A lovely fantasy on stardom spotted with her philosophy and the sad knocks of life. A good, unusual read.”
The Bookbag: “…a rather brilliant and beautifully-written story… She’s a girl you want to root for immediately…and whom you’re just so happy for when things go right…. Harriet has a brilliant naivety that manages the delicate balance of being hilarious beyond belief while still reasonable and believable. Every so often she’ll just say something or think something that makes you see the …. ambiguity in the world, in ways you never noticed before. This really is a rather special book, that is hard to do justice to on paper.” Five Stars.
El Mundo (Spain): “The book itself is a meditation, an invitation to readers who do not conform, to ask and seek answers less obvious than the usual, whatever the question, and though the protagonist is a teenager, the book is suitable not only for them, but also for adults.”
Juvenil Romantica (Spain): “….the book has delighted me… I finished it in a weekend and I have enjoyed every last leaf. I can say without doubt, that soon, this book will become the most gifted for 2009.”
Australian Women’s Weekly: “A wickedly funny, tender-hearted novel…Comparable to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time for its stunning originality, the double-edged sword that is fame, along with envy, grief, recovery, Marcus Aurelius and first love, are all fragments, the sum of which is a book that is a joy from beginning to end. The Runner-Up Great Read.”
Boekenbal (Holland): “Believe me: This book makes you happy! It is extremely inspiring and written in an intelligent way.” Five Stars. “Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised during a visit to the bookstore. This was the case with me. Fresh from the press was there: The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose by Diana Janney. After reading the flap I was already in love.”
Trashionista: “….it’s definitely well-written and good fun, so I’ll certainly be reading whatever Diana Janney writes next.”
You (South Africa): “This is a novel we can all learn from, whether it is to laugh at ourselves or to learn how to prioritise things in life.”
Elle: “An Adrian Mole for girls.”
Company: “Quirky and clever.” Four Stars.
O.K.: Four Stars.
Angel and North: “This brilliant new novel, aimed at adults, will undoubtedly be grabbed by every teen and pre-teen in the land.
The Resident: “….it describes the emotions of the adolescent child in us all down to a tee.”
The Citizen (South Africa): “I loved this easy-going story. It had a good mix of fun and reflection.” 5/5
Jonathan Ball (South Africa): Book of the Week
Libelle (Holland): “This airy and well-written book certainly not [to] miss.”
The Tribune (Ireland): “An amusing read.”
Australian Vogue: “The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose by Diana Janney is another worthy addition to what’s almost becoming a genre in itself…”
Lovereading: “Feisty heroine of the 21st century who will have massive appeal to ladies and ladettes everywhere. This debut novel is quirky, highly original and will be devoured by those who love Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole creation as well as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.”
Book Club Forum: “…a delightful read…. uplifting…an unusual book and Harriet is a wonderful anti-hero; even during her arrogant and misguided moments you find yourself completely on side willing her to overcome the various obstacles she faces. I defy anyone not to have a favourite Harriet Rose Meditation by the end of the book.”
Professor W.D. Hart (The Philosophy of Mathematics, Oxford, 1996): “Diana Janney handles philosophy deftly in her novel. She is never didactic or ponderous, and she always gets it right with a light touch. The characters in The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose leap from the page into one’s imagination. The salt in Olivia’s soul seasons the story, and Janney makes me laugh.”
Page One (Singapore): “A delightful novel which muses on the effects of sudden stardom and the realities of life. Diana Janney delivers in this wonderfully original novel which is definitely worth a read.”
Vrouw (Holland): “..Harriet as a girl could be seen as a new heroine!”
New Books: “I loved this book. I loved the way the story was told, with a sort of subversive humour. I liked the vividness of the characters, and the comments on modern life.”
Some Amazon Reviews: “… this one gets five stars. Harriet Rose captivates from the very first sentence, introducing conflict and consternation into the world around her without ever recognising what she is doing. Very few characters engage us in quite the way Harriet does – it’s an extraordinary privilege to be inside her mind in this book…an extremely good novel, with every page a delight to read, and the author’s gentle wit and irony breathing between the lines. It is brilliantly inventive in preciseness of Harriet’s characterisation, and the world of ordinary things around her takes on an extraordinary hue under her patient and unexpected questioning. Diana Janney has the control never to overplay her hand, and thus keeps a shape and a purpose to a story which could otherwise have been played for laughs at many points. Recommended to absolutely everyone who has a sense of humour.” Five stars. Martin Turner – Top 100 Reviewer Amazon Vine.
“What a very refreshing read this was! I really liked it very much…. This was a very entertaining, enjoyable book, funny, poignant, sad, and very likeable. A real treat!!” Five Stars. Top 1000 Reviewer Amazon Vine.
“Harriet is a likeable and precocious character who charms the reader with her comic innocence and touching melancholy at the loss of her father. However, there is much comedy in this book…. There is a refreshing warmth…that centres on the relationship of the main females…How lovely to read a book where, although everyone loves each other, there is no saccharine sweetness, just likeable spiky female characters who bounce off each other’s foibles. I liked this book and I hope somebody in their infinite wisdom, commissions Diana Janney to write more.” Five stars. Top 1000 Reviewer Amazon Vine.
“Janney gets into her young heroine’s head very well, and the result is an enjoyable original read. I would certainly look out for more books by this author.”
The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose is now available as a CD audio book produced by the BBC and film rights have been bought for a feature film by a U.K. film company.