Reviews

How to Be Both by Ali Smith

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hennershenners's review against another edition

4.0

I only picked this up because I thought the cover looked 60's and cool! ‘How to be Both’ by Ali Smith is two interconnected novellas both called Part 1(one has the picture of Eyes the other of a CCTV Camera.) CAMERA is the story of George, a young adult grieving for her mother; EYES is the (partly true) story of Francesco, a Renaissance artist of the 1460s.

But here’s the rub: In half of all printed editions of the novel the narrative EYES comes before CAMERA. In the other half of printed editions the narrative CAMERA precedes EYES.
The narratives are exactly the same in both versions, just in a different order. Everyone thinks that the way they read it is the best way; the way that makes most sense.

Called by some, an adult Choose Your Own Adventure, ‘How to be both’ is best appreciated not as two stories but – as described by George’s mum - "like reading a book in which all the lines of the text have been overprinted, like each page is actually two pages but with one superimposed on the other".

I started with George’s story. And I would recommend that way round because it’s easier (less stream of consciousness) and because the present day setting grounds the story.

I thought 'How to be both' would be tricksy and “Modern” and annoying, especially as George’s story ends (abruptly) and the Painter’s story begins all

Stream of
Consciousness and
Written in shapes
On the page like
It’s a poem
Or
Something

But, it’s so very brilliant that I want to tell the whole world. And it really is both; both: annoying and brilliant, tricksy and traditional, straight and LGBT, male and female, death and life, romantic and cynical, elderly and teenage…

Warning; the Painter sequence especially is very, very ‘Poetic’ almost pretentious, described by Elizabeth Day as “poetic fragments that pull the chronology forward and back and so out-of-shape that sometimes, it is difficult to know what is happening.”

rietbelmans's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

sofiaf10's review against another edition

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challenging funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

chrissieml's review against another edition

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1.0

I confess, I failed to read it all.
I tried, I really did, but just couldn't get a grip on the style and content - a bit stream of consciousness, a lot all over the place IMHO.
Next time I see a book labelled Winner of lots of prizes, lots of shortlists and with three pages of opening quote about how innovative, experimental, adventurous, contemporary and what a concept it is, I shall put it back and move on.

Sorry, Ms Smith. I prefer my fiction books to inform and entertain. If I want to get my brain working, I go for fact.

carolynj_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

I really wanted to like this book. I read it with the painter's section first, and I really enjoyed the broken writing style and fragmented language. The other section also told a good story. However, I feel as a whole that both stories were unfinished...I didn't feel a sense of completion when the book was done.