In her Globe and Mail review of Neil Bissoondath's latest book, The Unyielding Clamour of the Night, Maggie Helwig praises Bissoondath for his "striking descriptive passages," while lamenting the rigidity and predictability of his narrative trajectory.

I found these things to be also true for his earlier novel, A Casual Brutality. Though the subject matter is compelling and the plot's outcome devastating, I found myself wishing the novel had had a greater impact on me as a reader.