She’s Lost Control, in We Were Strangers

‘Zoe Lambert’s She’s Lost Control…perfectly evokes the youthful struggles and contradictions of yearning to belong, but longing to escape.’
– Carol Morley, The Guardian

Tonally, Zoe Lambert‘s take on She’s Lost Control has more in common with Belle & Sebastian than anything issued under a Fac number. More kitchen sink than sunk in despair, the trials of its safety-helmeted heroine as she struggles to emerge from her maternal cocoon are never less than captivating.
– Richard V. Hirst, Northern Soul

‘What many of the stories share is an unrelenting cold eye, for example, on epilepsy and how it impacts on ordinary life in Zoe Lambert’s story. We are seeing parts of the world that Ian Curtis may have seen in the moments when he lost control.’
– Richard Clegg, The Manchester Review

‘She’s Lost Control by Zoe Lambert…delves into the life of a young woman with epilepsy. Curtis’ own experience with the condition is well known, as he’d often collapse into fits onstage. This telling is devoid of glamour yet empowering and hopeful. The title is not only referencing the seizures but also the protagonist’s restrictive mother, losing the protective grip she holds on her daughter. This one spares no detail and made me physically nauseous while reading (which is a compliment in this case!)
– Beth Lenderyou, Northern Short Story Festival

‘“She’s Lost Control”, by Zoe Lambert is a darling of a story that interprets the lyrics of the song literally. A young woman of nineteen. Her epilepsy manifests at the worst time of her life, if there’s ever a good time to be diagnosed with anything. “It happened just as her friends were starting to cut their hair into long sexy fringes and watch bands in Manchester, just as they were getting jobs or going to college or getting married. She found her life getting smaller.”
– Camillus John, Litro

Chaconne In G Minor, in The End

‘Chaconne In G Minor by Zoe Lambert is an impressively controlled, delicately nuanced examination of grief. We feel what the protagonist feels, and while her partner is a somewhat shadowy character, her mother is vividly real, from the blood clots in her legs to her stifling determination that her child should succeed, in music, and in love. The emotional distress of the main character is portrayed in physical form: eczema around the eyes and instant migraines, while music itself, which its mathematical foundations and soaring expression, is both a solace and a blight. The fact that the tale deftly ends in its beginning is an added delight of symmetry and form.’
– Judy Darley, SkyLightRain

‘Chaconne in G Minor’ by Zoe Lambert is a highly meditated narrative that merges intricacies of music and philosophizes the nature of grief. The instances in which the protagonist fails to play the Chaconne at her mother’s funeral becomes a marker that signifies the overwhelming nature of death and the grief it results. “Music is the story of harmony being pulled apart and rebuilt then end is implicit in the beginning” summarizes the progress of events and sheds light on the expressive nature of music.
– Jude Gerald Lopez, Strands

“Chaconne in G Minor is a story of loss that captures that emotion brilliantly.”
– The Mole, Our Book Reviews Online

The War Tour

‘Ranging confidently across time and place, Lambert’s stories are sharply observed, moving, and continually surprising.’
– Jane Rogers, British novelist

‘Lambert’s collection presents a carefully balanced picture of the world’s combat zones… The writing is disarmingly plain and to-the-point… a kind of narrative ambush… I’d recommend that you read these.’
– The Guardian

‘A startling good collection of stories by a confident writer. Reading it is like taking a masterclass in how to do it well.’
– MsLexia Magazine

‘Reading ‘The War Tour’ is like wandering through a labyrinth of the unexpected, full of marvellous things… Lambert gazes into the abyss and does not flinch.’
– 3am Magazine

‘Poignantly portraying the everyday loves, losses, strengths and sacrifices of those living with war, The War Tour depicts trauma, horror and confusion alongside defiance, duty and survival, all in quiet, compelling language that resonates long beyond the final page.’
– For Books Sake

‘The War Tour begins and ends with a flourish… surprising and very well written.’
– http://keeperofthesnails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/war-zone-by-zoe-lambert.html

‘it is the level of research, the desire to bring to light hidden, forgotten or sidelined stories of war, and the willingness to showcase her writerly concerns that form the basis of Lambert’s personal hallmark. The effect can be polemic.’
– Real Time Short Stories