Longlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize.

A real triumph… relentlessly entertaining… This is a book of many layers, and each works an absolute treat. Henry Sutton, The Daily Mirror

A blast: a pacy and amusing satire of celebrity shenanigans, wrapped in glittery postmodern sweetie-wrappers… ‘Sam Leith’ liked it a lot. Sam Leith, The Observer

Trust me, it’s amazing! … By the time I finished this book, I wasn’t even sure if my name was Alex Heminsley. Alex Heminsley, BBC 6 Music

Wickedly fizzing dialogue… delightful prose… Sharp, funny and sad. Jonathan Gibbs, The Independent

Shockingly accomplished… fearlessly funny… Benedictus is surely a cert for the Man Booker and Costa shortlists. Leyla Sanai, The Independent on Sunday

Mindbending media satire… It’s very funny, but sad, too [with] well-drawn characters, smart dialogue and a canny plot. Anthony Cummins, The Times (paywall)

A topsy-turvy postmodern tour de force… a cracking satire on celebrity culture… [with] an emotional depth that metafictions often lack. Olivia Laing, The New Statesman

The narrative voice flows with wit and vigour… Benedictus’s debut ties author and reader in engaging knots. James Smart, The Guardian (contains spoilers)

Vapid and shallow… A rather laborious meander through the chapters of aspiring writer William Mendez’s book-within-a-book. Lesley McDowell, The Independent

Witty and somewhat confusing satire about celebrity culture… The sustained originality is a little wearisome, but it’s worth staying on board for the genuine surprises. Kate Saunders, The Times(paywall)

It is clever, well paced and structured… Still, it all lets a bit too much daylight in on the magic if you ask me. Keith Miller, The Times Literary Supplement

Sharp media satire meets a tricksy story-within-a-story format in this effervescent debut novel. The swagger and sparkle of Benedictus’s prose overcomes doubts about a fussily self-conscious plot. Anon, i

Benedictus is a skilful phrasemaker and his story-within-a-story is surely pacy enough that it could have been presented in its own right and without such arch quotation marks. Jonathan Barnes, The Literary Review

A treasure of a debut: assured, ambitious, and genuinely absorbing Anon, The Sunday Business

Essential reading… The story of the ultimate celeb after-party, it’s a knowing wink at publishing and celebrity culture – a high-concept first novel sitting just the right side of salacious. Anon, Elle

It’s all so self-reflexive, the novel bends over to look up its own arse… Neither biting satire nor gripping character study, it simply ends up as the equivalent of staring at the Daily Mail website. Fleur MacDonald, The Spectator

At once both scathing and humane, with a devilishly good postmodern twist… Compelling reading. Anon, Liverpool Daily Post

Wonderful… an intriguing thriller… great fun… This is the well-written, intelligent satire on celebrity we’ve been waiting for. Ben East, Metro

Uncommonly well written, with a bountiful supply of manic energy… Would Paul Auster kill to write a book as playful, fast-paced and unashamedly populist as this? Alastair Mabbott, The Herald

Benedictus has crafted something people are going to talk about, something a lot of people are going to read and something that your average Joe Cool will think is seditious and perverse. Peter Wild, Bookmunch

Benedictus takes us on a trail of the contentious highs and lows of the rich and famous in a mixture of dark humour and sharp dialogue. For Benedictus, and his valiant debut novel, more of the same please. Ben Bookless, The Big Issue

Laugh out loud funny… totally addictive… I figured I’d try a chapter or two to see if it was my thing… Two hours whizzed by and I was so immersed in the story I just had to keep on reading… One of the smartest and most contemporary novels I’ve read in a long time. Kim Forrester, Reading Matters

Is The Afterparty an example of what contemporary fiction produced by the texting, twittering, mobile-chained generation is going to look like in the future?… I did finish the book with a sense of personal dread, I must admit. Kevin, Kevin from Canada (contains spoilers)

This is probably my favourite book of 2011 so far. It is original, clever and entertaining…. I fully expected to hate it, but I was wrong… It is a gripping read with numerous twists and turns…The Afterparty is like nothing I’ve ever read before. Jackie, Farm Lane Books

Utterly captivating and hugely enjoyable… With just a few words, Benedictus manages to capture moments of human interaction and experience that other writers would waste paragraphs trying to get… A fantastic debut novel. Rob Cox, Bookgeeks

Incredibly inventive… “Leo Benedictus” has actually tied all of the stories together while keeping the book readable rather than just an exercise in literary theory. It is an extremely fun book to read that does have something to say about the media obsession with celebrity, and the price of fame. Anon, My Book Year

A novel as self-referential as The Afterparty risks getting lost in its own cleverness; but there’s such charm (and a certain audacity) in the way Benedictus lays bare the workings of his book that it won this reader over. David Hebblethwaite, Follow the Thread

A terrific page-turner… Leo Benedictus tells an excellent story which is loaded with twists and turns… It is a frighteningly descriptive book and Benedictus’ turn of phrase makes you delight in the word-play whilst also enjoying the plot. I can categorically recommend The Afterparty. Andy Jaye, shootingpanda

It is great! … If you like a bit of post-modernist writing with a strong sense of humour and a purpose as well, this book is for you… And it messes with your head. Big time. In a very entertaining way. Willa, Wicked Wonderful Words blog

Gloriously original…a terrific piece of writing. I’m reading it and cringing – but I’m also wanting more… a creative tour de force… I loved it all. Louise Laurie, The Bookbag

A mind-bending satire that is clever, funny and gripping… a new kind of fiction and perhaps more importantly – a cracking good read. Rachel Hazelwood, Aesthetica Magazine

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy The Afterparty… I started reading it last Saturday morning and found it very hard to put down… It is witty and clever… but, and this is important, it never vanishes up its own arse. Scott Pack, Me And My Big Mouth

If you like Popbitch and Private Eye, you’ll love this. I read it in one sitting (albeit on a long flight) and it’s a very entertaining, very well written novel… You’ll love it. Dan Calladine, Digital Examples

It’s certainly a brilliantly written post-modern novel… [but] I for one, this time, was all too aware that it was a literary device. There’s being smart and there’s being too clever and The Afterparty definitely feels like it’s too clever by half. Adrian Graham, personal blog