Comments on: Ali Smith: Girl Meets Boy

By: booklit

booklit — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:57:30 +0000

[…] Winterson and Margaret Atwood failed to excite me and, expecting no less from Ali Smith (see Girl Meets Boy), found myself suitably impressed. Now Michel Faber has entered the arena to present his reworking […]

By: Sondra Santos LaBrie

Sondra Santos LaBrie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:08:17 +0000

I love your blog and the way you have it laid out. I enjoy searching the book reviews by subject or nationality or publisher (I may have to change our blog to include a similar format).

I have nominated your blog for the Brillante Weblog Premio Award and look forward to discovering more great books to read thanks to you!

By: Stewart

Stewart — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:22:40 +0000

Wow! Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much, BookCrazy.

By: BookCrazy

BookCrazy — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:37:00 +0000

Based on your review, I picked the book last weekend. I cannot thank you enough.

This is an absolutely amazing book, something that had the same effect as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird. There is no similarity in the two, just the effect is the same. Simple story, great insights, amazing punch; prose as if it was poetry. And to beat it all, compressed within 150 small pages. It was a delight.

By: Stewart

Stewart — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:06:08 +0000

I, too, like the idea of the Myths Series but find that a number of those that have written them aren’t those I would choose to read. Winterson, Smith, and Atwood, as discussed; and McCall Smith is someone who I’ve tried and found wanting. Admittedly, it was the first in his Ladies Detective Agency series, so more of a set up for future novels, but it didn’t inspire, excite, or engage.

I am, however, especially looking forward to Michel Faber’s forthcoming contribution: The Fire Gospel. Others that interest will be Chinua Achebe’s one and, when it gets translated, if it hasn’t been already, Klas Östergren’s The Hurricane Party.

By: jem

jem — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:30:45 +0000

Glad to hear the Myths series offered you something you liked. I thought concept was great and loved the Winterson and Atwood (but I am fans of both authors) however the others fell a bit short for me (Grossman, McCall Smith) although the Pelevin was alright. I am hoping that the latest 3 (including the Smith) will be back to what I like.

By: Stewart

Stewart — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:45:45 +0000

Not a problem, Ann. Hope you enjoy it.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:03:46 +0000

I would have had exactly the same response as you based on my past experiences with Ali Smith. So, I too must out my prejudices aside and look this one out. Thanks for shaking up my prejudices!

By: Stewart

Stewart — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:58:22 +0000

I make that two counts, now, for The Handmaid's Tale, Sarah. Looks like I'll have to investigate that one. In fact, in reference to Cat's Eye: Jill Dawson's Watch Me Disappear had two epigraphs, one from Nabokov's Lolita and the other from Cat's Eye. Since it had many parallels or references to Lolita, one wonders if - and how many - there were to Cat's Eye.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:15:27 +0000

I’ve shied away from reading anything by Ali Smith so this might be a good place to start.

I’m a fan of Atwood but I find her work varies in quality- I’d recommend her novels The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye or her short stories Moral Disorder if you want to be impressed.