Padraig Rooney

       With a sharp eye for detail and a historian’s capacious knowledge, Padraig Rooney has written a superbly amusing guide to all the writers who’ve been drawn to or emerged from Switzerland.

       A fascinating look behind the scenery at how Switzerland has influenced and affected some of the greatest authors and some of my favourite books.

        An enjoyable wander around literary Switzerland. His journey sees him track the snow prints, shattered booze-glasses and missed spy drops of the likes of Rousseau, Byron, Hemingway and le Carré.

        A gossipy feel [with a ] touch of Clive James in its humour. What has Switzerland ever done for us? Quite a bit.

        Rooney is almost casually brilliant on Joyce, Nabokov, Mann … his observations on how and why writers embed Switzerland into their work are often brilliant.