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The Accidental

The Accidental

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Anyway, whatever, they made the story seem too contrived and dull. None of the characters were engaging nor did they warrant any sympathy, empathy or any other kind of pathy. A prime example being Dr Michael Smart, all round nauseating self obsessed academic with a penchant for thinking and talking about himself in the third person and for bedding his students. Note - the two activities need not be mutually exclusive for the tedious Dr Smart. That said, I can vouch that he is a good representative mash-up of many male academics that I have known and not loved.

Coming home from their vacation -- once they've rid themselves of Amber -- they are given an opportunity to for a fresh start (a rather startling opportunity -- blank slate fresh, in some (but only some) respects).Amber, straightforward and forthright, if not always usefully responsive, is accepted and welcomed on her own terms. Words aren’t stable in Smith’s fiction: as in Shakespeare, everything is mutable. Illustration by Chloe Scheffe Having dinner with his family, Magnus thinks that “Everybody at this table is in broken pieces which won’t go together, pieces which are nothing to do with each other, like they all come from different jigsaws, all muddled together into the one box by some assistant who couldn’t care less in a charity shop or wherever the place is that old jigsaws go to die” [p. 138]. In what ways are Astrid, Eve, Michael, and Magnus broken? What has broken each of them? Why don’t they fit together?

What does The Accidental say about family life? In what ways are the Smarts both a typical and an atypical family? As mentioned, at the beginning, the idea is not particularly original but Smith carries it off very well, primarily because both Amber and her effect on the family are generally unpredictable. Once again, this is a book that confirms Ali Smith as a major writer. Publishing history The only problem with the brilliance of Astrid as a fictional creation is that it rather makes you wish that the whole novel was hers. Which is not to say that the other characters are exactly bland, only that they don't radiate the same sense of discovery. (...) The Accidental has an infectious sense of fun and invention. The story goes through some surprising reversals and arrives at a satisfying conclusion, which is also a beginning. But afterwards, it's the child's voice you remember: it is Astrid's book." - Steven Poole, The Guardian Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read. Turrentine, Jeff (26 February 2006). "When a Stranger Calls". The Washington Post . Retrieved 19 April 2008.Murray, Noel (21 February 2006). "The Accidental". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008 . Retrieved 19 April 2008. Michael is a professor of English, but his main pursuit appears to be that of his young female students. An outstanding novel . . . Exuberantly inventive . . . Beautifully formed and astringently intelligent . . . It is as good as anyone who has been watching the progress of this talented author could possibly have hoped." - The Sunday Times.



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