Customer Reviews

Like Hb

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The book, divided into two very distinguished and separated halves, is an intriguing, entertaining and inspiring read. i finished it a few days ago and i keep thinking about it, i want to go back and read it again. told from several different perspectives, the meaning of the first half shifts considerably upon completion of the novel. smith writes beautifully. there were so many wonderful sentences that i read again and again, thinking 'yes, exactly! you've captured it!'

highly reccommended!

Way to go Ali Smith! More questions than answers, just like life. Lifelike even.

Read Like. Even if you think you might not like it. You don't have to. That's why it's really something.

This is a very good, ambitious novel and a much better book than Smith's more famously hyped "Hotel World."

The form of the book, its symmetric halves, gives the novel much of its interest and creates some of its biggest problems. As others have noted, the information presented in the "Ash" section sheds new light on the first half of the book. While much becomes clearer after a reread, I don't think that a book should demand a reread in order for readers to have access to the information they need to interpret the actions of characters.

I also think that a few crucial moments were missing from the novel. Of course most of them can be inferred, but the book would have been more satisfying had Smith explicitly narrated a few of the scenes from the past that fell through the cracks in the structure.

While some other reviewers prefer the "Amy" section, I honestly think that while it's more lyrical, in many places the writing also tends to be somewhat lethargic and obtuse.

Despite my criticisms of the book, I still found it to be a moving, worthwhile read.


In fact, Smith's elegant and nuanced depictions of how internal and external forces draw people together and (more often) keep them apart are the real meat of the novel. And in her descriptions of these moments, when twin brothers draw their fists at each other, when a married couple walls their house into two equal halves, when people choose to play a role at the expense of their own well-being, are the moments Smith succeeds most brilliantly.

I was completely drawn into this book from about page 5. I was actually quite disappointed when the book switched perspective in the middle, because when books do that I always have the urge to put it down and only know the first half (some self-destructive impulse, I don't know), but the second half was just as excellent as the first.
The Amy section was amazing. Her thought process was sometimes unclear, but so well written that the lack of clarity only draws the reader more into the story.
The Ash section was an easier read, as Ash, though a bit crazy, had a more clearly defined thought process. Being in her head was not more interesting than being in Amy's, but it was easier. I loved how each page of the Ash section seemed to shed more light on the Amy section. I feel like I need to go back and re-read the first part again, now.
The only complaint I have is about the final 20 pages or so. They are completely supurfluous - and the 3 or more pages of simile on top of simile seemed self-indulgent and more or less unneccessary. It was a letdown after 300+ pages of such witty prose to have to plod through those end pages.

This book weaves a complex web around the confusing relationship between two women and their feelings for each other. Introspective, moving and with an underlying air of brilliance, it is to be thoroughly recommended.

Reading the book was like walking on a mountain top in Scotland, with all the mist around me. I was confused; didn't know which way to go, couldn't decide how I felt about the characters. Especially about Amy. She reminded me of a girl I once loved. Like Amy, she was somewhat unreachable. "Like" moved me. It was certainly a different reading experience.

I just finished reading this novel and am left still really engaged in the story. The reasons for that is because of all the questions that are left unanswered. I find myself trying to answer them and dying to talk to someone else about the story to see if they came up with the same "conclusions." Although this is extremely frustrating, it's also great. How often do you get to read a book that is so pervasive that as soon as you close it your mind instantly begins to wrap itself around the words, characters, the moments of the story? Anyway, I highly recommend it. I, myself, am in the process of enlisting my friends to read it so that I can finally discuss it with someone.