Fiction finalist - 2014 New Zealand Post Book Awards

'Lyrical ... beautifully crafted ... As Hardy is lauded as one of the finest English writers, Wilkins is one of New Zealand's great wordsmiths' New Zealand Herald

‘Wilkins is brilliant at character ... the writing is full of verve. Wilkins has an eye for telling detail, a great ear for dialogue and a dark sense of humour.’ The Guardian

‘Wilkins’s characters are individual, unpredictable and real’ Independent on Sunday

‘Wilkins can command a breathtakingly supple literary style’ New York Times

‘An antipodean A. M. Homes’ The Guardian

‘Max Gate is superbly attuned to that tremulous moment just before everything changes forever – the Hardy household, the known world of domestic servitude and dutiful women. Damien Wilkins, who writes fabulous prose, is a wise and imaginative guide to this fascinating terrain. He has created that wondrous thing, a novel that surprises and delights at every turn.’ Michelle de Kretser