The Accidental - Ali Smith • BookLikes (ISBN:0241954568)

The Accidental

by: Ali Smith (author)

1.00 10

I was born in a trunk. It was during the matinee on Friday. I stopped the show. Arresting and wonderful, "The Accidental" pans in on the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family one hot summer. There, a beguiling stranger called Amber appears at the door bearing all sorts of unexpected gifts, trampling over family boundaries and sending each of the Smarts scurrying from the dark into the light. A novel about the ways that seemingly chance encounters irrevocably transform our understanding of ourselves, "The Accidental" explores the nature of truth, the role of fate and the power of storytelling.

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Format: paperback

ISBN: 9780241954560 (0241954568)

Publish date: 2011

Publisher: Penguin

Pages no: 306

Edition language: English

Category:

Young Adult, Novels, Literature, European Literature, British Literature, Cultural, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Modern, Female Authors, Scotland

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Community Reviews

A Scottish-Canadian Blethering On About Books rated it

6 years ago

http://surreysmum.booklikes.com A Scottish-Canadian Blethering On About Books 3.0 The Accidental (Smith)

text The Accidental (Smith)

The strength of this novel, for me, is in the very tight point of view for each of the chapters, right down to the individual use of language by the characters whose train of thought we are following. For instance, in the chapter where we first meet Astrid and her reaction to the country village whe...

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SilverMaris rated it

8 years ago

http://silvermaris.booklikes.com SilverMaris 3.0 Ali Smith: The Accidental

text Ali Smith: The Accidental

I love Ali Smith, and after reading How to Be Both and There but for the I wanted to explore more of her earlier work. The Accidental is stylistically perfect, but it left me a bit cold. The plot is simple: a family of four are holidaying in Norfolk, and during their stay a woman named Amber ap...

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DES rated it

11 years ago

http://DES.booklikes.com DES 5.0

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My second book by Ali Smith and her writing chimes with me. Good psychological observations and surprisingly believable absurdity.

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Kinga's Reading rated it

13 years ago

http://kingarooski.booklikes.com Kinga's Reading 2.0

text

Meh...it was a bit formulaic and a bit like the writer was trying too hard to be original. It was ok, but only just that.

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Raging Biblioholism rated it

13 years ago

http://ragingbiblioholism.booklikes.com Raging Biblioholism 1.0 Accidental (Penguin Ink)

text Accidental (Penguin Ink)

I quite simply found it to be a waste of my time. An exercise, not a novel. Annoying characters, a thoroughly ridiculous need for suspended disbelief, and no substance beyond the formal 'inventiveness' left me wanting a LOT more. I didn't hate it - but I certainly did not like it and found it to'...

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