Book description
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2015
WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2014
WINNER OF THE 2014 COSTA NOVEL AWARD
'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…
Why read it?
2 authors picked How to Be Both as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
In modern-day England, a teenager, George (Georgia), has lost her mother. In Renaissance Italy, Francesco del Cossa, a young and talented fresco painter, is motherless as well. Smith gives us a choice: Read George’s half of the book first, or read Francesco’s. Whichever we choose, the lives of these two young people are intricately interlaced. Their sadness and joy; their way of looking at the world around them. George has been to see a fresco in Italy created by Francesco. She is in a complex, post-death conversation with her mother, filled with longing. Francesco (or should that be Francesca?) tells…
From Christine's list on motherhood, mother loss, and everything mother-ish.
This novel is a bit of a dark horse. I was initially doubtful about its premise, but, like any good book, it lured me into its story. I won’t go into too much detail, other than to say that the story is actually two stories that merge. One is of George, a contemporary 16-year-old girl who— struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of her mother— attends counselling sessions at her school during which she recalls more and more of the trip she and her mother took to Italy. It was there that she became intrigued by an…
From Eden's list on with a work of art as the narrator.
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These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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