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fannahindigo's review against another edition
4.0
The poetry chapters from Michael's perspective. Smith's genius in a nutshell.
andyshute's review against another edition
4.0
A strange and haunting book about strangers and distance between people. Funny, odd and dangerous. Worth reading.
hendriati's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
annatusindben's review against another edition
4.0
ali smith is a perpetual master of writing different voices and breaking with the conventional ideas of writing so casually that any other author seems to be the odd one out. (i especially enjoyed michael’s section in the middle, and eve’s section in the beginning.) the alhambra sections confused me, and i’m sure someone smarter than me knows what to do with them. also, the ending made me think “is that it?”, but once again, i’m sure there is a greater philosophical idea to it that the heat of this scotrail train is preventing me from getting
charlottedaisy's review against another edition
3.0
Did I like The Accidental? Hmmm...
I'm not sure whether I really appreciated the artsy style of it all or whether I thought it was just plain pretentious?
The story itself doesn't have much meat to it, it's all about the characters and how their four individual parts make up one whole dysfunctional family. Then along comes Amber, this girl who the author tries really hard to portray as a worldly, super enlightened hippy chick. Amber teaches them all a lesson in their own ways, she makes them "realise" stuff... you know the drill. Not much really happens but there is a lot of learning and fancy prose - there's even some poetry!
Like I said. Artsy.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the aesthetic prose though, it's refreshing to read a book where the writing can really wow you. And the opening chapter was amazing! I'm just not sure the story held up against it, despite the nice twist at the end.
Reading challenge: a book about a family
I'm not sure whether I really appreciated the artsy style of it all or whether I thought it was just plain pretentious?
The story itself doesn't have much meat to it, it's all about the characters and how their four individual parts make up one whole dysfunctional family. Then along comes Amber, this girl who the author tries really hard to portray as a worldly, super enlightened hippy chick. Amber teaches them all a lesson in their own ways, she makes them "realise" stuff... you know the drill. Not much really happens but there is a lot of learning and fancy prose - there's even some poetry!
Like I said. Artsy.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the aesthetic prose though, it's refreshing to read a book where the writing can really wow you. And the opening chapter was amazing! I'm just not sure the story held up against it, despite the nice twist at the end.
Reading challenge: a book about a family
ehomant's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I finished this a few weeks ago and it was truly just… eh for me. which is a bummer bc I’m a big Ali Smith fan! but the manic pixie dream girl meets dysfunctional family was just a little too much for me. although the way Smith writes a precocious and weird 12 year old girl is spot on (as a former precocious and weird 12 year old girl).
aperfectsong's review against another edition
3.0
Ali Smith always succeeds at capturing the complexity of the human condition, and doing it beautiful. However, I didn't feel this book was as strong as There But For The, which had more drive and was more cohesive. Amber's sections felt more like clever word-play than part of a story; actually this goes for a lot of the book, not just Amber's sections. Still, it is an enjoyable read if you are into literary fiction and definitely a poetic feat.