I don’t write—not creatively at least; not fiction—but if I did this is how I would want to.

I mooched this because BookMooch kept recommending it to me. On the evidence of this book, Ali Smith is a really good writer, but somehow it didn't live up to my expectations. The basic idea (disruptive outsider bursts into the family's lives and by exposing each person's inner demons causes transformations to happen) isn't exactly original. It felt a bit pretentious in places, and it's one of those books where none of the characters is likeable, so I couldn't really get engaged with it because I didn't care what happened to them. I have a feeling I missed a lot of the references to Hollywood films I haven't seen (this aspect of the book, and the stylistic playfulness, reminded me of [a:Jonathan Coe|19916|Jonathan Coe|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1233589818p2/19916.jpg]). It gets 3 stars for the quality of the writing, and the last section when the Smarts return home, which was more interesting than the rest. I might read another of her books if it comes my way.

I can't beIieve I've had this book in my to-be-read book box for over ten years. Ten years it's been taking up space. No longer. Really, really, really didn't like this book. Far too clever for it's own good, full of highly annoying, self-absorbed characters, densely written in a tiresome way and just... ugh. I ended up skim reading it. How/why did this win all these awards? It's so full of its own cleverness that one of the chapters, based on Michael (the academic)'s experiences is written in different types of poetry. Which is clever I guess if I didn't just want to slap everything about this book.

So, we're at a holiday cottage in Norfolk and the chapters go from one family member to the next in a kind of stream of consciousness that gets really boring to read. There's Astrid, about 12 who is scornful of everything, precocious and annoying. Then Magnus about 16 who is depressed as he helped two of the popular boys created an image from porn, pasting a schoolgirl's head on top, and emailing it to everyone. Said girl was so humiliated that she commited suicide. Nasty nasty. The mother, Eve, is some kind of writer but doesn't have much to do with her kids (I'm really not trying to do mother judging here, but she isn't interested. At the end of the story, when their home has been emptied of EVERYTHING (even carpets), husband facing law suits, son just having escaped prosecution, she buggers off and leaves them all to do a world tour on her own). And Michael, her husband (but not biological father of the children) is an academic who shags one of his students every year. Then this woman, Amber turns up randomly, saying her car broken down and ends up staying with them for weeks with no explanation or invitation. Sorts of brings Astrid out of herself, sleeps a lot with Magnus, ends up punching Eve in the face. Just... what? And then at the end, Eve's car breaks down and she goes to this big American house for help. The house is home to a family from hell and it looks like she will be the next Amber. But... what? Why? Didn't enjoy the ride at all. Didn't like the characters. Don't get it. Dreadful book. Time to move on from my house.

overrated.

Interesting and beautiful at times, but also irritating. Unlikable characters, aggressively brainy structure, overly vague poetic-isms. The book may be well-written, but I didn't enjoy reading it.

This is the first Ali Smith that I’ve read and it is a very interesting book. The narrative switches, primarily, between the voices of four family members, husband, wife, teenage son and 12 year old daughter. Each voice is very clearly distinct and believable, although as has been mentioned in other reviews the voice of Astrid the 12 year old girl is particularly finely drawn. The protagonists are, at the start of the story, caught up in their own little worlds, giving very little thought to other family members and communicating with them sparsely and with difficulty.

This enables, Amber, a mysterious outsider to infiltrate the family holiday with everyone initially assuming that she was there at the behest of someone else. Having found that they all enjoy her company she serves to highlight and accentuate the divisions between the family members. Amber offers each of the family something that they need and there is a slight whiff of magical realism about this outsider, whose background and motives are ambiguous. The style veers from standard narrative to experimental use of poetry and layout to accentuate the themes and the plot. I personally struggle with this a little, but that may well be a deficiency on my part as a reader. The aftermath of Amber’s intervention in the family dynamic are wide ranging and largely convincing, other than perhaps in the case of the Mother (Eve), in particular towards the end of the novel.

There are some laugh out loud moments, some wonderful imagery, and some lovely musings on everything from everyday life to the meaning of life. My only real reservation was about the end of the novel which just stretched my ability to go along for the ride. I think the temptation for authors to wrap things up neatly is generally best avoided and always risks the risking credulity.

Having said that, this is a fine book that is definitely worth reading and I will look out some more Ali Smith in the future.

Hardcover, though there is also a paperback copy of this in our home. A lot to like about this.

Holy shit, this was good. I get why people don't like it - it's experimental and weird. Yet I couldn't put it down. I'm in love with the writing style. it's SO SO so incredibly clever, but not in a pretentious way. It's everything currently happening in the world, everything that has happened, and everything that will happen, packaged neatly into a book. If you enjoy poetry then you'll love this. It's honestly a delight. I Will be reading more of Smith's work bc oh my goodness.

Turns out the thirty year old Eggleston photo on the cover was my favorite thing about this book. Smith can certainly turn out some lovely prose, and couple it with unique approaches to fictional perspective, maybe along the lines of Virginia Woolf's flowery poeticism and narrative experiments. And there are plenty of interesting pieces of the puzzle here (I feel OK using this cliché since one of the book's characters is obsessed with the idea of clichéd language), but they never congeal into anything very satisfying, and the resolutions reached by her characters don't really feel earned. To use another cliché: this book's whole is less than the sum of its parts. Or something. It's a very showy kind of book, but I couldn't help feeling, upon finishing it, that all of its eloquence was a little shallow. Still, it earns an extra star in the rating because it can be a very pretty read.