Reviewing Signals of Distress in the 11 Sept Guardian Weekly, Philip Hensher accuses Jim Crace of writing a ‘boy’s book’ in the meretricious style of a Golding feigning Conrad, and ending up all at sea.

Holy Hemingway! At last ... a ‘boy’s book’ which strips the male ego down to a penis’s standing to attention before a flapping flag of feminine hair. A ‘boy’s book’ with scenes where women enjoy sex. A ‘boy’s book’ which pulls the focus to a wise and brave woman of 35, rendered invisible by a population of men with sexual impulses as direct as the cursor in a video game of ‘Rock heads Clint off at the pass’. And whacko, the strongest male in this ‘boy’s book’ is gay, while the central character makes Downer look as if he has a mind of his own.