The First Person: and Other Stories
by Ali Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ali SmithEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-01-06
ISBN: 0307377717
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Pantheon
Book Reviews of The First Person: and Other Stories
Book Review: Surreal
Summary: 3 Stars
It takes great skill to balance something surreal with the reality of person and place. Ali Smith does that expertly in her new collection, The First Person and Other Stories. I laughed aloud when I read "The Child," in which a toddler looks one way and acts quite another. Smith's cleverness and sense of the surreal appears in "Fidelio and Bess" when the characters Porgy & Bess begin to spear in Beethoven's Fidelio. In "Writ" a woman is visited by her teenage self. Strange and surreal, but as with each story, used in a way that leads to reality and to an understanding of our humanity. If you're interested in short stories, consider reading the finely crafted ones in The First Person.
Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
Summary of The First Person: and Other Stories
In these energetic, exhilarating stories, Ali Smith portrays a world of everyday dislocation, where people nevertheless find connection, mystery, and love. In ?Astute Fiery Luxurious,? a misdelivered package throws the life of a couple into disarray. A boy?s unexplained illness in ?I Know Something You Don?t Know? drives his mother to seek guidance from homeopathic healers, with inconclusive results. In ?The Child,? an unnervingly mature young boy voices offensive humor that genteel society would rather not acknowledge. And a confident older woman meets her awkward fourteen-year-old self in ?Writ? but can?t figure out how to guide her?or even whether she should.As Smith explores the subtle links between what we know and what we feel, she creates an exuberant, masterly collection that is packed full of ideas, humor, nuance, and compassion. Ali Smith and the short story are made for each other.
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