Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives

by Monica Germanà (Editor), Emily Horton (Editor)

In such novels as Hotel World and the Whitbread Prize winning The Accidental, Ali Smith has established herself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction. Covering her complete oeuvre, from the short stories to her most recent novel There but for the, this is the first comprehensive critical guide to Smith's work.


Bringing together leading scholars, Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives covers such topics as:

• Language, truth and reality
• Spectral presences and the uncanny
• Gender and sexuality
• Cosmopolitanism
• Smith's place in the contemporary canon

Including a new interview with the author, a chronology of her life and authoritative guides to further reading, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the best of contemporary fiction.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Monica Germanà is Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Westminster, UK. She is the author of Scottish Women's Gothic and Fantastic Writing: Fiction Since 1978 (EUP, 2010) and has published widely in the fields of contemporary fiction and popular culture.

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my favourite contemporary author I am perhaps a little biased, but I am very much of the opinion that Smith deserves far more critical attention. She is forever transgressing given limits within her fiction, and presenting fascinating and complex works about issues which matter. I have thus wanted to read Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives for such a long time, but deemed the £75 hardcover RRP a little pricey for a general read. Thankfully, my University library had two copies, and I can legitimately use it as a research tool.

Some of the essays in this collection caught my attention far more than others, but I expected this to be the case when I began. It would be fascinating to read an updated version of this book, which encompasses Smith's later works; as it is, the majority of the essays include her work up until 2011, and a lot of them focus upon the novels rather than her short stories which, I feel, are equally as satisfying as discussion topics. In this manner of limitation, although the essays often look at different facets of the three novels included (Hotel World, The Accidental, and There but for the), there is some repetition, which was perhaps impossible to avoid.

Regardless, new dimensions are added to Smith's work in Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, and the final essay by Merete Alfsen on the challenge of translating Smith's books into Norwegian was absolutely fascinating; it really gives one an idea of the trials and tribulations which vocabulary poses, and the length of time which the process tends to take. The final interview with Smith herself was also enlightening, and a real joy to read.

[Lena Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* only bc to find anything about Ali Smith is a treasure hunt and this one is at least SOMETHING. Мало от самой Али. И как-будто ее любое интервью собеседники все больше валидируют свои собственные идеи.
I find some of the book’s conclusions controversial (although not many), seems that the contributor missed key passages in the Smith’s work, which led to a misinterpretation. Even more Smith’s reflection is really missed

[Trever Polak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just flipped through the essay on The Accidental and There but for the on Google Books, and I think I can now say that Ali Smith isn't really rendered properly in critical interpretation. I think if you read the novels thoughtfully you'll be able to pick up the stuff put forward here without all the academic mumbo jumbo. The scholarly analysis of her writing takes away the visceral emotion that makes it so powerful, too; the thing I love about her is that she's at once very intelligent and invoking of emotion, and in-depth analysis of the presence of violence in dry and academic terms really takes away from the experience and the quality of her work.