Imperfect but dearly beloved. ( )

I often loved the truly beautiful, poetic writing that conveyed the character development and the themes (family, love, rebellion, access to water, feminism, patriarchy, identity, etc). Many times, though, that flowing, almost abstract writing style turned into less focused, more stream-of-consciousness passages (page-long sentences, really?) that were incredibly annoying to get through. Overall though I enjoyed what the book had to say and how it said it. ( )

Quick read - fell a bit flat for me, but I'm still keen to read some more of Ali Smith's work. ( )

Oh Wow. ( )

Originally published in 2007 as part of the Canongate Myths series, Ali Smith’s ‘Girl Meets Boy’ gets a shiny new cover in this timely republication.

Fans of Ali Smith will (re)discover her exuberant, effervescent word play, a love of language and the complexities of meaning in a simple phrase as it is repeated, extended, and toyed with. A re-telling of the story of Iphis in Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ this is a story of love, sexuality and homophobia, big business and acts of guerrilla vandalism. It is short – short enough to read in one sitting, and if you haven’t read any Ali Smith before this is an excellent starter to her fictional world and her authorial voice. I’m of a certain age, slightly younger than Smith but old enough to get her references, and her humour and delicate observation are a joy to read. In a time and a world when bad news is all around us we need books like this to reaffirm our humanity and our potential. The rewriting of myths for a modern age is important; as one of the characters puts it: ‘It’s what we do with the myths we grow up with that matters’.

I admit to being a huge fan of Ali Smith and pretty much everything she does. This is a joyful, playful book that will, I hope, bring a smile to your face. I definitely recommend it. ( )