My wife and I grabbed this one earlier in the summer at the library sale in Louisville. I had read Hotel World a million years ago after buying it at the Strand and recalled its haunting, inchoate characters. Memories of that appear rather reinforced by some observations in London a year or so later.

I read the first two stories around the time of its purchase and found both intriguing. The third story, the protagonist sees Death at the train staion, I felt glib and stopped there. I read the fore-mentioned story today in entirety and then finished the collection. Smith does a fine job of going half way with a protagonist's perspective and then switching to the partner or counterpart. Stories make me tired. They also inspire a longing for novels. Its deeper there. ( )

Maybe my favorite Ali Smith collection so far; a cracking good read. ( )

These are clever stories, some of which have their moments of brilliance, but none of them come across as particularly rich in meaning. They're either too clever or too quirky, and cleverness or quirkiness for its own sake leads this reader to disappointment. ( )

Breezy, charming, whimsical, like late brunch in Portland. I bought it at an airport bookstore and lend it out sometimes to people who just want a book that is nice, like guests who have forgotten to bring one but want to sit out in the grass on a sunny afternoon and read. ( )

Twelve short stories are collected here by Scottish author Ali Smith. Rather than go through all of them I will just mention a few that really caught my imagination. Being Quick is a strange story were Death is seen at a Kings Cross train station. The narrator switches between the person who saw Death and their partner at home and you are unsure reading the tale if one will die or is dead. Very unsettling and complicate yet so very simple.

May is a tale of someone who falls in love with a tree. Again the tale is told from two narrators perspective giving both sides of the story. Believe Me is a tale of two lovers lying in bed together claiming they are sharing the same man. It is unclear if they are both teasing the other or speaking the truth. The Heart of the Story follows three drunk women who go to a church for midnight mass to wamr up. After being thrown out two leave to get a taxi and it is implied the youngest is homeless. The Start of Things tells the story of a breakup and how it began.

There are definite themes running through the tales which leads to a sense of cohensiveness. Many are to do with relationships and also nature (in particular trees). Ali also often switches narrative throughout the stories giving different perspectives which she is particularly adept at. She plays the pronoun game a lot not specifying whether her narrators are male or female which led me to check her sexuality. It was no surprise to find out she is a lesbian which means her tales are unspecific as to whether her characters were straight or in gay relationships which was interesting. I liked the ambiguity and it makes each tale read slightly differently depending on your assumptions so you get more than one story per reading! ( )