Synopses & Reviews
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.
About the Author
Emily Horton is Visiting Lecturer in English Literature at Brunel University, UK, and at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
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).
Table of Contents
Foreword: Marina Warner
Series Editors Preface
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Chronology of Ali Smiths Life
INTRODUCTION
Monica Germanà (University of Westminster) and Emily Horton (Brunel University)
CHAPTER ONE
Contemporary Space and Affective Ethics in Ali Smiths Short Stories
Emily Horton (Brunel University)
CHAPTER TWO
Simile and Similarity in Ali Smiths Like
Ian Blyth (University of St Andrews)
CHAPTER THREE
Narrating Remainders: Spectral Presences in Ali Smiths Fictions
Stephen M. Levin (Clarke University)
CHAPTER FOUR
Ali Smith and the Philosophy of Grammar
Mark Currie (Queen Marys University of London)
CHAPTER FIVE
Queer Metamorphoses: Girl Meets Boy and the Futures of Queer Fiction
Kaye Mitchell (University of Manchester)
CHAPTER SIX
Narrating Intrusion: Deceptive Storytelling and Frustrated Desires in The Accidental and There but for the
Ulrike Tancke (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)
CHAPTER SEVEN
“The Space That Wrecks Our Abode”: The Stranger in Ali Smiths Hotel World and The Accidental
Patrick ODonnell (Michigan State University)
CHAPTER EIGHT
Idiosyncrasy and Currency: Ali Smith and the Contemporary Canon
Dominic Head (University of Nottingham)
CHAPTER NINE
‘The Uncanny can happen: Desire and Belief in The Seer
Monica Germanà (University of Westminster)
AFTERWORD
‘Sidekick playing the same tune: Writing Ali Smith in Norwegian
Merete Alfsen
INTERVIEW
Gillian Beer interviews Ali Smith
References
Works Cited by Contributors
Further Reading
Works by Ali Smith
Critical Material
Index