Man on Fire is astonishingly moving in its heartbreak and humour … About 50 pages into this enchanting book, I discovered that it is a true story and Bibhuti is a real man … Man on Fire does what a novel at its best can do; underneath the humour and pathos and Bibhuti's hopes and dreams, we find an account of India itself. Out of this unlikely material, Stephen Kelman has written a book of profound beauty and deep empathy

Justin Cartwright , Observer

Kelman gives an intoxicating picture of Mumbai in all its chaos, which is a neat contrast to Bibhuti's mindfulness

The Sunday Times Ireland

Man on Fire, in essence, is like a buddy movie with a spiritual bent; that this spirituality comes from the most unlikely source is its strength, and not a weakness

Erica Wagner , Guardian

An enthralling fictionalised part-biography of Bibhuti, is Kelman's moving tribute to the Times of India journalist … Kelman – no relation to James, although he shares the great Glaswegian's ability to write dark, gut-wrenching books full of life and energy, and that are often very funny

Jackie McGlone , Sunday Herald

This confirms his ability to evoke deep emotion. Its hybrid fact-and-fiction subject probably won't attract as many readers as his first book, but those who venture will be richly rewarded

Daily Mail , John Harding

In a glorious opening monologue that manages to be hilarious and sympathetic, Bibhuti recounts his inaugural boundary-buster: receiving 43 kicks to his unprotected groin … Whatever the result, Bibhuti is certainly a wonderful creation who resists prat-falling into reductive buffoonery thanks to Kelman's nicely measured portrait … Man on Fire is a strange, arresting novel that is borne aloft by two vivid protagonists, and threated together by a delicate chain of imagery … the novel offers a salutary meditation on time: how we fill it, how we waste is and the tricky challenge of telling the difference

James Kidd , Independent