Ali Smith

This is a novel all about art's versatility. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths, and fictions. There's a renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real - and all life's givens get given a second chance.

How to Be Both

Kat Albanese

Lindy

I read Eyes preceding Camera which I think would be the far more interesting way to experience the two interlocking novellas. Merits rereading at some point, probably.

Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith's novels are like nothing else. How to be Both is a novel all about art's versatility. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths and fictions. There's a renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real - and all life's givens get given a second chance.

How to be Both

I quite enjoyed this! Can't wait to discuss it in my university's book club and see it the order of the two parts actually influences the reader's thoughts on the story

heleen de boever

Olivera Mitić

The second part (the one set in the past) ruined everything for me. Too avantgarde. I could clearly envision Smith applauding herself for being oh so clever and quirky while saying nothing most of the time.

Catarina

Tiff Brunson

blake

WINNER OF THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2015 WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2014 SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014 WINNER OF THE 2014 COSTA NOVEL AWARD WINNER OF THE SALTIRE SOCIETY LITERARY BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2014 NOMINATED FOR THE FOLIO PRIZE 2015 'Brims with palpable joy' Daily Telegraph 'She's a genius, genuinely modern in the heroic, glorious sense' Alain de Botton 'I take my hat off to Ali Smith. Her writing lifts the soul' Evening Standard How to be both is a novel all about art's versatility. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths and fictions. There's a renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real - and all life's givens get given a second chance. Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith's novels are like nothing else.

Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive, and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith's novels are like nothing else. " How to be both " is a novel all about the versatility of art. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving, genre-bending conversation among forms, times, truths, and fictions. There's a Renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structure gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real--and all life's "givens" get a second chance.

Jorge Amigo

Marek R

Ricky Burgess

Karolina Klermon-Williams

Yasmin

Hobbes

Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, a lively story about the versatility of art is presented as a genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths and tales from the perspectives of a renaissance artist, the offspring of a 1960s parent and others.

Karen E

SHORT-LISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2014 GOLDSMITHS PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2014 COSTA NOVEL AWARD A Best Book of the Year: NPR, Financial Times Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith's novels are like nothing else. A true original, she is a one-of-a-kind literary sensation. Her novels consistently attract serious acclaim and discussion—and have won her a dedicated readership who are drawn again and again to the warmth, humanity and humor of her voice. How to be both is a novel all about art's versatility. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths and fictions. There's a Renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real—and all life's givens get given a second chance. A NOTE TO THE READER: Who says stories reach everybody in the same order? This novel can be read in two ways and this book provides you with both. 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. The books are intentionally printed in two different ways, so that readers can randomly have different experiences reading the same text. So, depending on which edition you happen to receive, the book will be: EYES, CAMERA, or CAMERA, EYES. Enjoy the adventure.

Will Vunderink

Erin P

Penelope

Ioana Kardos

Izza

Isabella

The dazzling new novel about art by the Man Booker- and Orange Prize-shortlisted author of The Accidental Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive, and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith's novels are like nothing else. How to be both is a novel all about art's versatility. Borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving, genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths, and fictions. There's a renaissance artist of the 1460s. There's the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real--and all life's givens get given a second chance.

How to Be Both

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