“A poignant and arresting duet of the historic and the contemporary. . . . Ansay sprinkles bits of letters, photographs and drawings throughout the novel, a deft touch that adds to the book’s evocative moods of past and present.” - Miami Herald
“In this pleasure of a book, two love stories are entwined. . . . Photos, scraps from letters and diaries, make this book a fascination. The questions posed by Hart and Jeannette are timeless, as Ansay has them debate the true nature of the Clara-Johannes relationship.” - Providence Journal-Bulletin
“GOOD THINGS I WISH YOU leaves no variation unexplored, and its delicate melody lingers after the final page.” - South Florida Sun Sentinel
“[Ansay] successfully tries her hand at metafiction in her latest novel, a poignant and arresting duet of the historic and the contemporary. . . . Ansay sprinkles bits of letters, photographs, and drawings throughout the novel, a deft touch that adds to the book’s evocative moods of past and present. . . . The remarkable thing about Good Things I Wish You is its ability to mine those feelings and emerge shining with life’s possibilities.” - Miami Herald
“Ansay is an adventurous writer whose work evades easy categorization. . . . A meditation on art and love in the European mode. . . . As the parallels between the two relationships multiply, the novel catches fire. . . . She is a gifted and sure-handed storyteller. She sets out to discover whether men and women can be friends, whether friendship can survive passion, and with great tact and skill she shows us the complicated answer.” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“A meditation on art and love in the European mode. . . . [Ansay] is a gifted and sure-handed storyteller.” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Ansay’s novel addresses the important question of what role art plays in life. . . . The photos convey a more intimate account of history, as if the reader were flipping through a personal scrapbook belonging to Clara’s or Robert’s descendants.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Intriguingly accompanied by reproductions of Schumann-Brahms ephemera, Ansay’s inventive exploration of this eternal romantic conundrum is equally paradoxical in its execution. Spare yet sumptuous, precise yet lavish, Ansay nimbly sifts historical fact through an admittedly autobiographical filter to deliver a richly textured study.” - Booklist
“Reminiscent of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Good Things I Wish You employs a rich and daring metafictional spin on one of the great romances in history to investigate passion and love—and what doesn’t change between women and men. Manette Ansay takes great risks to deliver great rewards.” - Stewart O'Nan
“Good Things I Wish You is a lyrical, haunting exploration of loves past and present. Witty, sprightly, surprising, this deeply original and utterly captivating new novel by A. Manette Ansay beguiles the senses and dazzles the heart. A beautiful book.” - Diana Abu-Jaber