There but for the

Description

A warm, joyful novel that fizzes with humanity and love of language - by the bestselling author of The Accidental '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 the hours turn to days to weeks to months and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbourhood then the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they at first appear.

Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of Free Love and Other Stories, Like, Other Stories and Other Stories, Hotel World, The Whole Story and Other Stories, The Accidental, Girl Meets Boy, The First Person and Other Stories, There but for the, Artful, How to be both, and Public library and other stories. Hotel World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize and The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Orange Prize. How to be both won the Baileys Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Folio Prize. Ali Smith lives in Cambridge and her next novel is forthcoming in 2016.

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 *