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kylehepp4267's review against another edition
Woah. When I got to the second half of this book I was really confused. After I googled and realized some people got the painter’s narrative first and the modern girl’s second, it made more sense. I didn’t absolutely love this book upon first reading but the way it was done was so damn smart and unique that I’m going to leave it unread and come back to it because I want to delve in deeper.
teii's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
teresatumminello's review against another edition
5.0
My dear friend Cathrine is the reason I first read Ali Smith about ten years ago and she is the reason I was able to read this book as quickly as I did. She and Ali Smith will be forever linked in my mind. When she gave me this book, she told me copies of the novel have either one of the two sections first: you get what you get. (Unless of course you go to a bookstore and choose the one you want.) Not surprising to us, I received a copy different than hers: because, you see, we too (two) complement (and, yes, compliment) each other.
When I got home from my recent trip, which included my first face-to-face meeting with Cathrine in Norway, she emailed me that she'd heard from others who struggled with the section I had first that flipping to my second section first was 'easier.' Of course, I took that as a challenge, but I need not have worried: the reading of my first section wasn't a (negative) challenge (I wondered if maybe those readers hadn't gotten past the first two pages) and things began to be quickly, though gradually, revealed. In this beginning, I detected a whiff of Joyce's [b:A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|965500|A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|James Joyce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330216970s/965500.jpg|3298883] but really it was all Ali Smith. I loved its language and especially the voice for the artist that Smith conjured up with her magical skills: it was endearing and quite funny. (My colons are in homage to the 15th-century artist, who is both real and imagined.)
To be completely honest, I'm not sure if this is as perfect as Smith's [b:Hotel World|123036|Hotel World|Ali Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348587043s/123036.jpg|118455], though it's certainly more ambitious, maybe even more ambitious than [b:The Accidental|127630|The Accidental|Ali Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327936559s/127630.jpg|449610], which I also loved. I found my first section so wonderful that I felt the second could only pale in comparison, and it does a little bit, if only because there's maybe a bit too much talking here and there. But still I loved it -- it dovetails into the other section, like a hand in a glove, like one puzzle piece into another. Cathrine and I had the same experience reading my second section, though she read it first in her copy -- that is, much googling of images, though we googled nothing in the other section. In that section Smith's rendering of the artist's works is enough.
Many ways of "how to be both" are found in this novel (I won't list any as seeing those are part of its pleasure) and the structure of the book is not a gimmick, but another reflection of the theme.
When I got home from my recent trip, which included my first face-to-face meeting with Cathrine in Norway, she emailed me that she'd heard from others who struggled with the section I had first that flipping to my second section first was 'easier.' Of course, I took that as a challenge, but I need not have worried: the reading of my first section wasn't a (negative) challenge (I wondered if maybe those readers hadn't gotten past the first two pages) and things began to be quickly, though gradually, revealed. In this beginning, I detected a whiff of Joyce's [b:A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|965500|A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|James Joyce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330216970s/965500.jpg|3298883] but really it was all Ali Smith. I loved its language and especially the voice for the artist that Smith conjured up with her magical skills: it was endearing and quite funny. (My colons are in homage to the 15th-century artist, who is both real and imagined.)
To be completely honest, I'm not sure if this is as perfect as Smith's [b:Hotel World|123036|Hotel World|Ali Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348587043s/123036.jpg|118455], though it's certainly more ambitious, maybe even more ambitious than [b:The Accidental|127630|The Accidental|Ali Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327936559s/127630.jpg|449610], which I also loved. I found my first section so wonderful that I felt the second could only pale in comparison, and it does a little bit, if only because there's maybe a bit too much talking here and there. But still I loved it -- it dovetails into the other section, like a hand in a glove, like one puzzle piece into another. Cathrine and I had the same experience reading my second section, though she read it first in her copy -- that is, much googling of images, though we googled nothing in the other section. In that section Smith's rendering of the artist's works is enough.
Many ways of "how to be both" are found in this novel (I won't list any as seeing those are part of its pleasure) and the structure of the book is not a gimmick, but another reflection of the theme.
chris_mcc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jamchow's review against another edition
5.0
I'm really surprised at how much I loved this book. I expected to either like it or not like it, but it has this sort of simple brilliance that isn't simple at all. I loved both parts (I had camera then eyes) and I don't know how different the experience would be had a read it vice versa. (I can't really imagine it the other way because in my mind it is so obviously the right order). I am also surprised that I loved both George and Francescho and both of their stories and the way it all came together. Gah I can't really describe why I love it so much.
jmajka's review against another edition
The first half I was on board! The second half… what is this? Might come back to it in the future
elanasherlockk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was ok. I really struggled with the prose, there were some nice moments but in the end I won’t read this again.
Ali Smith shows just how alike Art and gender are, both being deeply personal, while also shaped my social norms. I had the version of the book that started with George’s Story, but I just never got into the story.
Ali Smith shows just how alike Art and gender are, both being deeply personal, while also shaped my social norms. I had the version of the book that started with George’s Story, but I just never got into the story.
fionnualalirsdottir's review against another edition
How to write a novel about art—everybody’s doing it—without revealing the amount of research that has gone into it.
There’s the twist.
Research is important in a novel written in the twenty first century but which is partly set in Renaissance Italy. The author needs to comb the archives but burn her notes after reading. She needs to walk the old town she’s writing about from one end to the other but then she needs to throw the guidebook away and leave with only her own impressions, any hard facts should be left in the library. Ali Smith shows such creativity in every other aspect of this book that any reservations I have about the amount of hard fact that show up in this book should be dropped right now...
Ouch! That was a lot of facts!
But back to Ali Smith's creativity.
Creativity demands we go beyond what we know, experiment with new ideas, new forms, find new angles to present those new ideas and forms. Creativity demands inventiveness, and the enthusiasm and energy to turn the old on its head and reveal the new, to add an original twist. That twist again.
Ali Smith possesses more than her share of inventiveness, and enthusiasm, and energy. This book is unique, in fact there ain’t never been nothing quite like this!
There are two distinct halves to this book and each could possibly stand alone but instead they are linked by a neat twist. Some copies of the book have one half first, some the other. Imagine a sheet of paper with story A at the top of one side and the same story repeated at the bottom. On the reverse side, you have story 1 laid out in the same way. You give the paper a twist in the middle and if you read one side only, you get story A and then story 1, but if you turn over, you get story 1 first and then story A. The author has written both halves very carefully so that while each touches on the themes of the other, neither steps on the other’s plot line too much. They are like an image and its mirror image, except not quite, as if there’s a little flaw in the mirror’s surface which causes a distortion, a slight twist in the perception of both stories. And perception is very important here. No question of Put your blindfold on. No. You have to keep your eyes wide open right through this book or you might miss a vital twist.
Smith is very enthusiastic about her content, almost childishly enthusiastic. Here’s a different dance for you all to do, I hear her saying to her readers, Spin your body like a screw.
And we do, because there’s no other way to keep up. The narrative voice is young, breathless, but oddly knowing too, old and young at the same time which can be destabilising for the reader—there's that twist again, can't avoid it, it seems.
So I guess by now you’ve got the gist
better not forget it on your shopping list!
And if you still need convincing, check out The Wilbury Twist
………………………………………
Edit: 28th September 2018
I was in Ferrara recently—where a lot of the action of this book happens. It was great to be there. We walked the old town just as Ali Smith must have done as she followed in the footsteps of her characters, especially the fifteenth century artists Francesco del Cosse and Cosmè Tura.
I saw Tura's Saint George in the museum:
Unfortunately, the Palazzo Schifanoia which houses the frescoes by Tura and Del Cosse, described in such detail in Smith's book, was closed for renovations. Another time perhaps.
There’s the twist.
Research is important in a novel written in the twenty first century but which is partly set in Renaissance Italy. The author needs to comb the archives but burn her notes after reading. She needs to walk the old town she’s writing about from one end to the other but then she needs to throw the guidebook away and leave with only her own impressions, any hard facts should be left in the library. Ali Smith shows such creativity in every other aspect of this book that any reservations I have about the amount of hard fact that show up in this book should be dropped right now...
Ouch! That was a lot of facts!
But back to Ali Smith's creativity.
Creativity demands we go beyond what we know, experiment with new ideas, new forms, find new angles to present those new ideas and forms. Creativity demands inventiveness, and the enthusiasm and energy to turn the old on its head and reveal the new, to add an original twist. That twist again.
Ali Smith possesses more than her share of inventiveness, and enthusiasm, and energy. This book is unique, in fact there ain’t never been nothing quite like this!
There are two distinct halves to this book and each could possibly stand alone but instead they are linked by a neat twist. Some copies of the book have one half first, some the other. Imagine a sheet of paper with story A at the top of one side and the same story repeated at the bottom. On the reverse side, you have story 1 laid out in the same way. You give the paper a twist in the middle and if you read one side only, you get story A and then story 1, but if you turn over, you get story 1 first and then story A. The author has written both halves very carefully so that while each touches on the themes of the other, neither steps on the other’s plot line too much. They are like an image and its mirror image, except not quite, as if there’s a little flaw in the mirror’s surface which causes a distortion, a slight twist in the perception of both stories. And perception is very important here. No question of Put your blindfold on. No. You have to keep your eyes wide open right through this book or you might miss a vital twist.
Smith is very enthusiastic about her content, almost childishly enthusiastic. Here’s a different dance for you all to do, I hear her saying to her readers, Spin your body like a screw.
And we do, because there’s no other way to keep up. The narrative voice is young, breathless, but oddly knowing too, old and young at the same time which can be destabilising for the reader—there's that twist again, can't avoid it, it seems.
So I guess by now you’ve got the gist
better not forget it on your shopping list!
And if you still need convincing, check out The Wilbury Twist
………………………………………
Edit: 28th September 2018
I was in Ferrara recently—where a lot of the action of this book happens. It was great to be there. We walked the old town just as Ali Smith must have done as she followed in the footsteps of her characters, especially the fifteenth century artists Francesco del Cosse and Cosmè Tura.
I saw Tura's Saint George in the museum:
Unfortunately, the Palazzo Schifanoia which houses the frescoes by Tura and Del Cosse, described in such detail in Smith's book, was closed for renovations. Another time perhaps.