More about the book
When a dinner-party guest named Miles locks himself in an upstairs room and refuses to come out, he sets off a media frenzy. He also sets in motion a mesmerizing puzzle of a novel, one that harnesses acrobatic verbal playfulness to a truly affecting story. Miles communicates only by cryptic notes slipped under the door. We see him through the eyes of four people who barely know him, ranging from a precocious child to a confused elderly woman. But while the characters' wit and wordplay soar, their story remains profoundly grounded. As it probes our paradoxical need for both separation and true connection, "There but for the" balances cleverness with compassion, the surreal with the deeply, movingly real, in a way that only Ali Smith can.
Book purchase
There but for the, Ali Smith
- Language
- Released
- 2012
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Paperback)
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- Title
- There but for the
- Language
- English
- Authors
- Ali Smith
- Publisher
- Penguin Export
- Released
- 2012
- Format
- Paperback
- ISBN10
- 0241961955
- ISBN13
- 9780241961957
- Series
- Tags
- Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, British Literature, Literary Fiction, 21st Century, Scottish Literature
- First published
- 2011
- Original title
- There But For The
- Rating
- 3.65 out of 5
- Description
- When a dinner-party guest named Miles locks himself in an upstairs room and refuses to come out, he sets off a media frenzy. He also sets in motion a mesmerizing puzzle of a novel, one that harnesses acrobatic verbal playfulness to a truly affecting story. Miles communicates only by cryptic notes slipped under the door. We see him through the eyes of four people who barely know him, ranging from a precocious child to a confused elderly woman. But while the characters' wit and wordplay soar, their story remains profoundly grounded. As it probes our paradoxical need for both separation and true connection, "There but for the" balances cleverness with compassion, the surreal with the deeply, movingly real, in a way that only Ali Smith can.