currently devouring: ali smith’s the accidental…

I simply can’t let go of Ali Smith’s The Accidental. Lately, I’ve been unable to read contemporary fiction. I rushed out and purchased Jhumpa Lahiri’s new book, and it’s collecting dust on the shelf along with my dear friend Kira’s manuscript (I know, I’m a rotten, rotten friend), and Columbia classmate Katie Crouch’s Girls in Trucks. Maybe it’s working in publishing, promoting my own book, getting a constant stream of RSS updates from PW, Lunch, blogs, etc, etc, which has paralyzed me. I can’t actually read anything new, but I’m exhausted by my very long Mishima journey, which, in the end, was a complete and utter disappointment (that’s a whole other post), so what to do other than page mindlessly through magazines and pray that this slump is only a passing phase?

And whilst cleaning through my bookshelves, unloading all the chick lit, thrillers, and self-help books that publicists tend to send, I found a dog-eared galley of Ali Smith’s book. I recalled seeing it, flipping through it, and placing it back on the shelf when I first received it, but this time I sat on the floor and started turning pages.

I was on the floor for four hours, and I’m nicking bits of it on the subway, on tea breaks, and stirring sauce as I cook. I can say, unabashedly, that I love this boy and I’m overjoyed that I’ve only just found this writer. And I’m starting to remember why I love books so much – it’s the remarkable joy of discovering someone – even long poast the reviews, discussions, dissections and vivisections – and starting a whole new conversation with the work. It’s the kind of wonderland to which you want to rapturously tumble in.

The Accidental is the story of a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance during a family’s summer holiday transforms four variously unhappy people. Learn more by clicking here.

Unrelated by equally fabulous: Michelle Goodman’s got a new book coming out! Applause! (via)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm and is filed under bookbum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.