A revelatory meditation on humanity . . . If you're wondering how any author could wring a novel of more than 300 pages out of such scanty components, the answer is soon clear: compelling characterisation. De Tores's Selkirk is an adorably reprobate antihero whose company never palls as we follow him through his long days spent hunting and skinning goats, smoking, scavenging and – understandably – engaged in furious bouts of onanism . . . A poignant, sophisticated portrait of a man far more modern and interesting – at least in De Tores's telling – than the historical record might let on

A. K. Blakemore, Guardian

A fantastically fresh, gripping adventure story and psychological journey combined

Guardian, 70 Brilliant Books for the Summer

De Tores builds Selkirk's world with detail and patience – it's an impressive imaginative feat

Antonia Senior, The Times

Illuminating . . . Cast Away is excellent in basically every way imaginable . . . de Tores creates a piece of work that feels both intimate and universal, plausible and mystical, gritty and transcendent. Like with Hilary Mantel's wonderful Wolf Hall, Cast Away can be enjoyed on its own terms as a rollicking adventure story

Darragh McManus, Irish Independent

Forget Robinson Crusoe, this witty new retelling is undeniably brilliant . . . The result is such agile, witty, sophisticated entertainment . . . Pathos, elegance and paciness are expertly combined, drawing the reader in with gallows humour. By the time the trap door of de Tores' novel swings open, its brilliance seems undeniable

Declan Fry, Sydney Morning Herald

What I imagine must have been lengthy and meticulous research has transformed on the page into a vivid, utterly convincing and immersive read . . . Beautiful, fascinating, heartbreaking, philosophically engaging – and often very funny. A necessary and delightful corrective to the Crusoe mythology

JO HARKIN, author of The Pretender