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A review by writtenontheflyleaves
Free Love and Other Stories by Ali Smith
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Free love and other stories by Ali Smith π
ππππ
Yesterday, to shake me out of the funk I've been in with reading lately, I turned to Ali Smith's first ever collection of short stories, first published in 1995. I talk about the Ali Smith bingo card a lot, and while this isn't quite a winning hand (there aren't any ghosts in this one), it does have many familiar themes and motifs. Precocious young teenagers battered by grief; dinner parties disrupted by an absurd happening; strangers connecting in a fleeting but profound way; references to the art and culture of the 1960s. There's something wonderful about seeing these themes again and again in Smith's work, especially all the way back in her very first book.
It's also interesting to read an Ali that doesn't feel quite like the Alis I'm used to. This is less tricksy, less experimental than her later work - I think she might even have used speech marks at some point, I couldn't believe my eyes!! The world she created felt more recognisable as this one, less of a transformation than in her other books.
It was still beautiful, of course. I particularly loved the story "College", which felt very much like a precursor to Hotel World, a story of a young girl losing her sister and struggling to process her grief by herself. I loved "To the cinema", I loved "The world with love". These were all stories about love and coming to the realisation of it, realising the particular shape of a relationship compared to what you expected it would be, or thought it was. It's tender and odd and a beautiful taste of what was to come in Smith's work.
π Read it if you like short stories that give you the full feeling of a character, especially if you're not very attached to plot. If you don't like experimental writing but are curious about Ali, maybe start here.
π« Avoid it if you have a love/hate relationship with Ali Smith, as I feel like there are more impactful ones you could pick up by her.
ππππ
Yesterday, to shake me out of the funk I've been in with reading lately, I turned to Ali Smith's first ever collection of short stories, first published in 1995. I talk about the Ali Smith bingo card a lot, and while this isn't quite a winning hand (there aren't any ghosts in this one), it does have many familiar themes and motifs. Precocious young teenagers battered by grief; dinner parties disrupted by an absurd happening; strangers connecting in a fleeting but profound way; references to the art and culture of the 1960s. There's something wonderful about seeing these themes again and again in Smith's work, especially all the way back in her very first book.
It's also interesting to read an Ali that doesn't feel quite like the Alis I'm used to. This is less tricksy, less experimental than her later work - I think she might even have used speech marks at some point, I couldn't believe my eyes!! The world she created felt more recognisable as this one, less of a transformation than in her other books.
It was still beautiful, of course. I particularly loved the story "College", which felt very much like a precursor to Hotel World, a story of a young girl losing her sister and struggling to process her grief by herself. I loved "To the cinema", I loved "The world with love". These were all stories about love and coming to the realisation of it, realising the particular shape of a relationship compared to what you expected it would be, or thought it was. It's tender and odd and a beautiful taste of what was to come in Smith's work.
π Read it if you like short stories that give you the full feeling of a character, especially if you're not very attached to plot. If you don't like experimental writing but are curious about Ali, maybe start here.
π« Avoid it if you have a love/hate relationship with Ali Smith, as I feel like there are more impactful ones you could pick up by her.