"Sartaj Garewal's reading of this novel about Indian migrant workers in Britain combines the best of both audio and print. . . . he brings the words on the page to life--performing rather than simply reading the dialogue, perfecting the various accents of the characters ranging from Indian to Cockney, and even adopting different voices for different characters to fully flesh each one out." —AudioFile

"Garewal's narration expertly captures the voices and emotions of these characters, enabling the listener to know their motivations, strengths and weaknesses, and hopes and fears, all of which are expressed vividly and poignantly." —Library Journal Starred Audio Review

"[Narrator] Garewal handles a variety of Indian accents quite handily." —Publishers Weekly Audio Review

"Told in the most intimate of ways, not theorised but deeply felt ... Sahota is a writer who knows how to turn a phrase, how to light up a scene, how to make you stay up late at night to learn what happens next. This is a novel that takes on the largest questions and still shines in the smallest details. Sahota moves some of the most urgent political questions of the day away from rhetorical posturing and contested statistics and into the realm of humanity. The Year of the Runaways is a brilliant and beautiful novel." -Kamila Shamsie, Guardian

"Novels of such scope and invention are all too rare; unusual, too, are those of real heart, whose characters you grow to love and truly care for. The Year of the Runaways has it all. The action spans continents, taking in a vast sweep of politics, religion and immigration; it also examines with tenderness and delicacy the ties that bind us, whether to family, friends or fellow travellers. Judges of forthcoming literary prizes need look no further. [...] For sheer emotion and vertigo-inducing anxiety, the [closing] scene ranks with Tess putting the letter under Angel Clare's door, or Omar Sharif catching sight of Julie Christie on a moving bus in the film of Dr Zhivago. You cry because of the terribleness of it, but also because you just don't want this book to end. Sunjeev Sahota is an absolutely wonderful writer. It is amazing that this book, so rich, so absorbing, so deftly executed, should be only his second. I doubt if I'll read a better novel this year." -Cressida Connolly, Spectator

"An ideal antidote to a year of reductive discussions of immigration, Sunjeev Sahota's novel takes you deep into the lives of a group of Indian labourers thrown together in Sheffield. Deftly shifting in time and place, Sahota builds a portrait of the often painful circumstances that lead these men to abandon life in India for this cold, damp city, in the hope of starting afresh. This is Sahota's second novel. His first, Ours Are the Streets, was an acutely observed story of a young man's shift from ordinary British Pakistani teenager to Muslim radical. The Year of the Runaways is no less accomplished in its lyrical prose and ability to immerse the reader in the experiences of a hidden community in Britain ... It is a testament to Sahota's accomplished characterisation that he maintains sympathy with the men even after they commit crimes and take advantage of others." -Emily Dugan, Independent on Sunday

"This massive book, stuffed with compelling stories, rich in characters and resoundingly authentic in its detailing of life in the harsh underbelly of this country, should be compulsory reading. A magnificent achievement." -Daily Mail

"The Year of the Runaways takes place in a parallel England, a near-invisible world that rarely intersects with our own. It is familiar territory from news reports, but only in outline. Sahota has a lot to say and he says it calmly, with great moral intelligence ... deeply impressive." -Sunday Times

"A wonderfully evocative storyteller." -Independent

Sunjeev Sahota's debut novel, Ours Are the Streets, was called "nothing short of extraordinary" by the Observer and "a moral work of real intelligence and power" by the Times. He was named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists of 2013.