Read it. Inspiring. Poignant. Wonderfully unconventional

Sunday Telegraph

Startling and imaginative ... It is both poignant and funny. Ball combines visceral imagery of everything from prodding needles to breast reconstruction with a carefully considered, sparing use of text that lets her drawings tell the story … There are no flashy images or graphics in The Inflatable Woman, just an unassuming pencil depicting a gritty reality. Inspired by the author's own experiences with breast cancer, the book is an honest and modern account of the burden of illness … This is a thoughtful and original debut that brings the plight of a cancer patient into full focus

Irish Times

Almost fully drawn in pencil, there is a stark, moving realism in the dowdy central character's plight. Despite this, the story moves seamlessly from harsh realities into dreams, nightmares and fantasy, reflecting both the whirlwind surrealism of Iris's illness and the world that opens up to her as she enters remission. Ball's is a welcome addition to a growing genre that is making both the graphic novel and women's issues reach a wider audience, in an accessible way, while providing readers with good reason to hold on to the book as an object

Big Issue North

Rachael Ball illustrates a world in soft pencil full of pint-sized nurses, musical penguins and romantic sailors. Her world is so magical you can almost forget the ever present cancer lurking in the blackness that surrounds the panels. This stunning debut graphic novel slips in and out of dreams, poetry and nightmares beautifully illustrating the power of imagination and the unconscious when confronted with the harshest realities of life

Karrie Fransman, author of The House That Groaned

Rachael Ball's magical drawings reflect both the fantasy and mundanity of the everyday. She presents the reader with a world of astonishing wonder and beauty through marks of the ordinary humble pencil, inviting us to look at our own lives anew

Nicola Streeten, author of Billy, Me & You

There are lovely scenes – penguins serenading Iris hoping to console her, a well-mannered monkey reminding her of what she's achieved. Dream and nightmare scenes summon up the terror of dealing with cancer and medics are shown needing a few empathy lessons – the grinning Dr Magic with his sycophantic acolytes is particularly striking ... It's funny and tender, and I hope it helped Ball through her ordeal

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