How To Be Both by Ali Smith

 

This is a stunning novel, full of surprises.  It starts with the structure.  The book contains two books.  One book starts with the story of a Renaissance artist, the other starts with the story of a teenage girl named George whose mother had died a few months earlier.  Which one comes first is entirely a matter of chance; the novel was sent to press with half the books starting with the artist painting and the other with George's story.  

What ties them together is the exploration of the mural at Ferrara, Italy.  The mural is the year in pictures.  The artist had done three months, March, April and May.  The other unexpected thing tying the two parts together is the duality experienced within the books.  One might be male or female, dying or alive, mothers may be here or gone.  Is what we see reality or just another joke of the universe?

Ali Smith is a Scottish author who delights in playing with structure and form.  I've been avidly reading her since her novel Hotel World which was released in 2001.  It was a Booker nominee as is this novel.  She has been awarded the CBE, Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire for her contributions to literature.  This is a novel that I'll read again as it is obvious that there are many layers and connections to be made and one reading is not enough to appreciate the depth of the novel in its two stories.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.