A sparkling satire from the Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women's Prize-winning author of How to be both and the critically acclaimed Seasonal quartet
'Playful, humorous, serious, profoundly clever and profoundly affecting' Guardian
'There once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party . . .'
As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they first appear...
*****
'Adventurous, intoxicating, dazzling. This is a novel with serious ambitions that remains huge fun to read' Literary Review
'Smith can make anything happen, which is why she is one of our most exciting writers today' Daily Telegraph
Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of Spring, Winter, Autumn, Public library and other stories, How to be both, Shire, Artful, There but for the, The first person and other stories, Girl Meets Boy, The Accidental, The whole story and other stories, Hotel World, Other stories and other stories, Like and Free Love. Hotel World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. How to be both won the Bailey's Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Autumn was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017 and Winter was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2018. Ali Smith lives in Cambridge.
Title: There but for the
Author: Ali Smith
ISBN: 9780141025193
Binding:
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2012-07-05
Number of Pages: 384
Weight: 0.2813 kg
Whimsically devastating. Playful, humorous, serious, profoundly clever and profoundly affecting * Guardian *
Remarkable. A brilliant novel: funny, serious, always surprising, always true * The Times *
I take my hat off to Ali Smith. Her writing lifts the soul * Evening Standard *
A playfully serious or seriously playful novel full of wit and pleasure. Wonderful * Observer *
Eccentric, adventurous, intoxicating, dazzling. This is a novel with serious ambitions that remains huge fun to read. The writing dances along * Literary Review *
Poignant, empathetic, funny. A book full of kindness and compassion * Time Out *
Fizzying, affectionate, sparkling. Smith presents her world view in words as fresh as lemons. A joyful read * Herald *
A tour de force -- Lionel Shriver * Financial Times *
A virtuoso piece of writing, both funny and gripping . . . Smith is a writer with a rich array of conventional strengths * Times Literary Supplement *
A must read * Toronto NOW *
