Bailey's/Orange Women's Fiction Group discussion

Enjoy!

nice! must go retrieve my copy off the shelf!! :)

alright -- so i have read up to page 57 this evening. i am finding it...erratic, but that may be smith's intent? the story and characters have not really grabbed me yet, so we'll see how it goes.

i am trying to recall other books i have read that had more than one quote/epigraph at its beginning. smith has included 5 of them at the start of her novel, from: john berger, nick cohen, jane austen, sophocles, and charlie chaplin. i am always interested in epigraphs...but it seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? :)

who else is planning on reading this this month?

I am but am waiting for the book from the library.

I've picked this up from the library and will be starting it soon - looking forward to it after enjoying others by Ali Smith.

I have a library copy reserved.
Five quotes is a lot. I don't remember seeing more than three before, but I may not have been paying sufficient attention.

Judy wrote: "I've picked this up from the library and will be starting it soon - looking forward to it after enjoying others by Ali Smith."

this is the first time i am reading smith - something i have been keen to do for a long time. what have you enjoyed from her previously, judy?

Jennifer, it's a few years since I've read any Smith, but I'd especially recommend 'Hotel World', which is about a number of different people centred on a hotel - the writing style is playful and different. I've also read another of her novels, 'Like', which I enjoyed but don't remember all that well - it's really two linked novellas.

I've also read two or three collections of her short stories, but that was in pre-Goodreads days and I'm not sure which ones they were now, as her collections tend to have very similar titles! I do remember that the stories were good individually but tended to get a bit samey if you read a lot of them.

thanks, judy! is smith rather experimental/post-modern with her style in the things you have read?

i finished 'the accidental' yesterday - it was quick reading, but i am not a fan. i can't wait to hear thoughts from you all as you read it.

Hi Jennifer, yes, she is a bit experimental in those I've read. Just starting this one now!

I am enjoying the very different voices of the family members.

I've just finished this - a quick read plus I'm on holiday at the mo so have extra time! I enjoyed the different voices too, Val - the first Magnus section is the real standout for me. Powerful writing

I'm just emerging from a busy patch and haven't had time to keep up with the group. Coincidentally (or accidentally!) I bought this book about 4 days ago at the train station. So I'm rapt that you're reading this. I've been keen to read for a while (and haven't looked at anyone's comments yet! I hope it's good).

I'm just back from holiday - I am about half way through this and - oh dear! I am so irritated by the writing style - I get that she is 12 and Smith is trying to sound like that age but do we need every single repetition, every minute observation of nothing at all that's relevant? It is improving but is really not something I have taken to. If she says 'sub-standard' or 'cheap' one more time I'll scream! (I think by starting this group I have jinxed myself!!! I keep not really liking the books - help!!)

I wanted to listen to The Accidental but the audio download wasn't available through the local library. So, instead I borrowed the cds to listen to in the car. It is going to take a long time to hear it completely since I'm retired.
Instead I did download (I like to listen to books on my walks) An Accidental Woman. Haha
It sounds like a good plot but during my 2 mile walk I heard so many ideas repeated over and over and over...

I'm closing my eyes to the messages in this dialogue because I've only reached page 20... But I thought I'd share that my recently purchased book is now looking a bit seedy after my partner knocked a glass of red wine over it. So I'm feeling restricted to reading it in private! It might take me a while to get through it.

this isn't a spoiler as it comes pretty much at the start of the story, and in the book's description:

i am curious - did you guys buy into the premise? i mean...stranger comes to your house, you want to sort out who this person is, right? i just couldn't get past that issue.

Jennifer, I'm sure I've come across this premise somewhere else, the person who everyone assumes is somebody else's friend... but I can't remember where it was. Did it ring a bell with anyone else, or am I just suffering from deja vu?!

it feels like a familiar device, though i can't think of anything off the top of my head with which to compare to 'the accidental'. but it seemed so prolonged this lack of figuring it out in smith's book.

Jennifer wrote: "it feels like a familiar device, though i can't think of anything off the top of my head with which to compare to 'the accidental'. but it seemed so prolonged this lack of figuring it out in smith..."

no Jennifer - that is something that is driving me mad too - for goodness sake why dont they just get rid of her!!! There were endless debates about the word 'and' -- OK - yes -- so stop and move on to some part of the plot - oh yes I remember plots they were usually linked to reasons for events. At one point Astrid is wrapped in a jumper around her head, a few moments later she removes the jumper and it is wrapped carefully around her waist - and the point is????? who knows??? but hey who cares it takes up a few more paragraphs for no apparent reason!!

ha!! you just made me laugh, penny! :)

I'm pleased to have moved on from Astrid to Magnus. I did find Astrid's perspective challenging at times. I agree with Penny - sometimes it's not clear what the point is. But I did get a sense of the type of character she is, if not warming to her. I'm starting to get more drawn in now, thought it has taken a while. I assumed early on that the person wasn't known to anyone...But I could be wrong.
(In the end I downloaded it so that I can read it on the train without the stained pages.)

Astrid is quite an annoying child, but I did find her funny sometimes. It might have drawn people in better to have someone else as the first narrator.

I jsut figured she is a typical twelve year old. That is how old she is, isn't it? The problem with listening to a book on cds is that it is difficult to go back and verify anything. Anyway, I was that goofy at twelve.

I was goofy at twelve too, and probably annoying at times.

I agree about Astrid being a bit annoying but funny sometimes - I preferred all the other narrators, especially Magnus. His first chapter was fantastic, I thought - like a great short story in its own right. Did anyone else really like that part?

I quite liked Magnus. He was involved in a very sad incident and feels terrible about it, but it was not deliberate nastiness.
Both Astrid and Magnus seemed right for their ages.

I think Val is right - it would have been good to start with a different narrator, particularly given the style of writing. Then the transition to Astrid might have been easier to swing into. I'm still in the early stages, so not sure if I'll warm to her more as it moves along.

Val wrote: "I quite liked Magnus. He was involved in a very sad incident and feels terrible about it, but it was not deliberate nastiness.
Both Astrid and Magnus seemed right for their ages."

I thought so too. Magnus is beating himself up over it, as he should considering what happened. Hopefully, he will learn and grow and not do himself harm. I'm still in the middle of the book.

Diane wrote: "Val wrote: "I quite liked Magnus. He was involved in a very sad incident and feels terrible about it, but it was not deliberate nastiness.
Both Astrid and Magnus seemed right for their ages."

I th..."
I have one more CD to get through - I will listen to it soon - probably when there is nothing else in the car!!

so - she breathes a sigh of relief - I have finished this book - if it wasnt for the group I would have given up ages ago!!! I have 570 'read' books and I have only awarded 1 star 6 times - but this gets 1 star - :( sorry but there is no way I can give it more. I particularly hated the repetition of EVERYTHING. A massive monologue on the word 'and', a listing of all the cinema houses in England, how sub-standard everything was, even the actual prose eg. 'she put on her cardigan, she took off her cardigan. She wrapped her cardigan around her waist - and it went on and on like this without rhyme or reason, never advancing the story or truly being relevant. Even the actual events within the story are left without details - not solid ones anyway. We never really understand any of it - at least I didnt!!

RANT OVER - SORRY!!

Penny, I wonder if this is one of those books that's better to read than to listen to - I like Ali Smith and really loved her playful use of language, but I don't know what it would be like in an audio book.

I'm also wondering if you and I might have opposite views on some books, because I really liked this one but loathed most of 'The Signature of All Things', which you liked - I found that one incredibly boring and probably wouldn't have got through it without the group! It will be interesting to see if we agree on other books - fingers crossed we both like the next one!

I think it was a stinky audible book. I say this because I started out as audible and soon abandoned it for the book. Big change. I liked the read book very much, including the detailed mannerisms of the characters.
But I also liked the Signature of all things so I'm in the middle.

Judy wrote: "Penny, I wonder if this is one of those books that's better to read than to listen to - I like Ali Smith and really loved her playful use of language, but I don't know what it would be like in an a..."

yes Judy - we will have to keep an eye on what our opinions are - at least if we are total opposites one of us will be pleased some of the time!!
Diane, I still dont think paragraph after paragraph of stuff on the word 'and' and lists of cinemas and tiny movements of clothes would grab me - written or spoken. It's just not for me. Judy - I was really in 2 minds over TSoAT for the first quarter or so - I could easily at that stage have decided 'nah!!' but it changed for me as it went along. The Accidental continued to drive me mad right to the very end!!!!
Fingers crossed for the next selections

To be honest, there were parts I skipped over. :-) But for me there really was a big difference between the book and listening to it and I listen to a lot of books.
Publishers have definitely cut back on editing books. We had a discussion on it on another forum.

Nice picture Penny. Is it a special place?

It is unfortunate that you disliked this one so much, Penny, but we do have very different books this month and the next two, so I hope you will like one of them each time.

Diane wrote: "Nice picture Penny. Is it a special place?"

oh did you catch the change of profile picture? I was fiddling around with uploading pictures and that one ended up briefly as my profile. I took it off as it seemed too distant for such a small picture. My son and I did a bit of walking in the Lake District earlier this year and it was from there! We are building up our distances! (more for my benefit than his!)

Small as the picture was, it looked beautiful. Walking in the Lake District is a dream I have long held but I don't want to go alone. I haven't found anyone else, here in the US, who thinks it would be great to travel all the way to Britain to walk. People are so weird.

I read the Accidental in a book club here in Boston probably over 5 years ago now. A vast majority of the women in my book club HATED this book. I ended up giving it 3 stars as there were some parts that I enjoyed.

Diane wrote: "Small as the picture was, it looked beautiful. Walking in the Lake District is a dream I have long held but I don't want to go alone. I haven't found anyone else, here in the US, who thinks it woul..."

Quite a lot of foreigners do come over to do set walks like the Coast to Coast. On some of the reviews they seem to have a wonderful time. The one advantage we have over the US is hardly any horrible creepy crawlies!!
Jessica - good to hear I'm not totally on my own about this book! I rarely dislike a book intensely but this one really annoyed me - I guess we cant all like everything.