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The Accidental

(Penguin Celebrations)

By Ali Smith

(44)

| Paperback | 9780141035017

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Critics

'The Accidental' by Ali Smith

Reading a book 'blind' like this, does not happen very often for me. Often my book reading choices are determined by recommendations by friends, reviews I've read in print or online, or, when I'm browsing in a store, the book cover image, the blurb a ... (read full critics)

readingmatters published on Mon, 27 Sep 2010

The genuine article

The Accidental by Ali Smith (306pp, Hamish Hamilton, £14.99) Representing a child's voice in a novel is a tricky thing. One has to negotiate the twin perils of overwriting and underwriting the part. An overwriter will put into the young character's h ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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7 Reviews

3 people find this helpful

Family life is turned on its head by an unexpected guest.
Sample:
"He was fiery, full of fire, full of a new and uncorrupted fuel. He picked up his glass again. Look at it. It had been shaped in an intense heat. It was miraculous, this ordinary glass. He was it. He was this glass. He was ... (continue)

Family life is turned on its head by an unexpected guest.
Sample:
"He was fiery, full of fire, full of a new and uncorrupted fuel. He picked up his glass again. Look at it. It had been shaped in an intense heat. It was miraculous, this ordinary glass. He was it. He was this glass. He was that spoon, those spoons there. He knew the glassiness of glass and the shining spooniness of spoon. He was the table, he was the walls of this room, he was the food he was about to prepare, he was what she'd eat, sitting opposite him, looking straight through him.
She had ignored him over supper.
She had ignored him the whole time."

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annemarie said on Oct 8, 2006 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Reading The Accidental

Ali Smith's The Accidental is an engaging read that follows two paths. One is the path of Amber, a young woman who was conceived in a classic movie theater, and the other is the family whose lives she enters. She arrives unannounced and immediately has an impact. Michael, the husband/stepfather is a ... (continue)

Ali Smith's The Accidental is an engaging read that follows two paths. One is the path of Amber, a young woman who was conceived in a classic movie theater, and the other is the family whose lives she enters. She arrives unannounced and immediately has an impact. Michael, the husband/stepfather is a college professor with an appetite for his students. He immediately sets his sights on Amber, who rebuffs him at every turn. Eve, the wife/mother, believes that Amber is in fact one of her husband's student (Michael think that Amber is a researcher who has arrived to interview Eve about a series of books she has written). For whatever reason, she appreciates the easy peace that Amber brings to the family, but resents her inwardly at the same time. Magnus, the teenaged boy, is pleasantly obsessed with Amber, who helps him through suicidal feelings and a bit of coming-of-age. And Astrid, a younger girl who turns her nose up at most everything, becomes more open and soft in the older woman's presence. The book does a fine job of exploring the ways that Amber changes all four family members, and also eventually moves in a circular direction to begin the cycle anew (the three sections of the book are split into beginning, middle and end, though the end feels as much like a beginning as the book's opening pages do).

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moogle said on Mar 28, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

So-so!

The book is beautifully written, sometimes almost a little too experimentally, yet it sometimes seems clichéd. An easy example; the book is split into parts--Beginning, Middle, End--and in each of those parts each character has a chapter describing what happens to them, each character's chapter begi ... (continue)

The book is beautifully written, sometimes almost a little too experimentally, yet it sometimes seems clichéd. An easy example; the book is split into parts--Beginning, Middle, End--and in each of those parts each character has a chapter describing what happens to them, each character's chapter begins "the beginning", "the middle", "the end".
To summarize, the novel describes what happens to a family on an extended holiday when an uninvited--indeed unknown--guest shows up & lives with the family. Each character has fatal flaws & the guest through her conniving manages to show those flaws to each individual. They all grow and find themselves, some to more success for their future lives than others by the finish.
Other than the writing being slightly over the top, the main thing that stopped me really enjoying the book was that none of the characters are particularly likable.
Do stick with it; it gets better about a third of the way through, but still not enough for me to effuse over it.

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Scott said on Feb 18, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

It took me much longer than I would normally take to complete, but do not seem to have had much time to read recently. Also it did not meet my expectations, although I did enjoy it. It was not an easy read, as I found the style very strange. Maybe I missed the point but I was disappointed not to lea ... (continue)

It took me much longer than I would normally take to complete, but do not seem to have had much time to read recently. Also it did not meet my expectations, although I did enjoy it. It was not an easy read, as I found the style very strange. Maybe I missed the point but I was disappointed not to learn the identity of Amber

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Lindyloumac said on Nov 2, 2009 | Add your feedback

The story of a dysfunctional family, whose summer is disturbed by the arrival of a mystery visitor, who turns their lives upside down and forces each member of the family to evaluate what has happened in their lives.
I couldn't put this one down. I was entranced by the concept and the writing ... (continue)

The story of a dysfunctional family, whose summer is disturbed by the arrival of a mystery visitor, who turns their lives upside down and forces each member of the family to evaluate what has happened in their lives.
I couldn't put this one down. I was entranced by the concept and the writing is beautiful. It was both comedic and thoughtful. I would highly recommend it to others.
Why did it take me so long to take this one off my shelf and start reading it?

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Liz4211 said on Oct 12, 2009 | Add your feedback

Maybe I missed something...

I was drawn in, involved with the characters, getting to grips with the curious language, and then... then nothing much. I seem to have finished the book and yet missed the ending... A bit disappointed to be honest.
(unless I missed the point, anyone?)

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goldtop said on Aug 15, 2009 | Add your feedback