How to Be Both

Written by Ali Smith
Review by Amy Watkin

This unusual novel is memorable as well as lyrical. Smith tells the story of a Renaissance artist and a 21^st-century teenager who find their lives woven together in ways that neither characters nor readers understand right away. First, we hear from the Renaissance artist, who is assigned to paint the East wall in the room of a palace with representations of March, April, and May. Then, about halfway through, we begin to hear George’s story. George is a teenager who is piecing together her final memories with her mother, recalling, in particular, a trip they took to Italy, where they were awed by the East wall of a room in a palace, and George began asking questions about art. Though shrouded in mystery of character, plot direction, and some creative but muddling language, I still grew attached, liking the characters.

The writing style becomes clearer as you read, mirroring the characters’ ability to figure out their own lives. At the beginning the writing is full of broken lines, unfinished words, and incomplete sentences, somewhere between poetry and mad ravings in a stream of consciousness. Soon these broken sentences form into brief scenes, though we still don’t know if our “I” figure is male or female, young or old, dead or alive. And perhaps the point is that it doesn’t matter. Even as these elements of character become somewhat clear, there’s still a great mystery that I found curious as well as playful and enveloping. The story does eventually form itself into prose, but the writing remains poetic, reminiscent of Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, though also quite unique.

I was enchanted, and would recommend the experience.