Hardly An Accident (The Accidental)

I think most literature fanatics would find my reading habits fairly immature. I am a book whore of sorts. I commute to work five days a week, and I cannot face the bus/train journey without something to read. Seriously. It is a fixation. If I am faced without a book/magazine/newspaper, I will go and buy the first thing I see. This leads to many dubious choices, as well as the act of scrambling around for loose change to buy the most tattered book in the charity shop.

I make most of my choices by reading the reviews featured on the book. In terms of literature, this is probably the worst way of making a decision because every reader takes something different from a piece of writing. Yet, I have been reviewing every book I've read for nearly the last six months and there is something greatly reassuring about putting my thoughts, feelings and conclusions out there. Even though I get barely any readers on this blog, I find the process cathartic and feel that if I can help just one reader make a decision as to whether or not to read a book, I will be successful. Absolute bullshit, I know, but fairly accurate.

So it is fairly rare for me to want to re-read a book. Of course I have my favourites (Matilda, To Kill A Mockingbird) which I could read again and again. But my current state of book consumption is fairly limiting in this aspect. I move on from one story to the next in the hope of quelling boredom and learning something in the process.

Ali Smith's The Accidental proves to be the exception to that rule. Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award 2005 and shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize, the novel arrived to strong reviews, both good and bad. It is Smith's second novel, although she has also written two volumes of short stories.

The book did not start out well for me, as it is initially fairly cryptic and I felt myself getting bored (it was early morning, I hadn't had my Red Bull yet, give me a break). However, once Amber (a mysterious stranger) had arrived on the doorstep of the Smart family's Norfolk holiday home, I had been won over and intrigued by Smith's writing and style decisions.

Some reviews I have read attack Smith for being too clever, and I admit I am the first person to criticise gimmicks and false literary devices in contemporary fiction. However, I did not find Smith's techniques gimmicky in the slightest. True, she does change the narrative direction and voice throughout the novel, but I found this a help rather than a hindrance. The plot is secondary to the characters in this novel and their points of view and emotions play an integral part in understanding this story.

The entrance of hippy-like, enigmatic Amber into the dysfunctional lives of Michael (stepfather and philandering university professor), Eve (mother and unfulfilled author), Astrid (daughter and strong-willed filmmaker) and Magnus (son and guilty soul) is not only realistic, but also mentally thought-provoking and challenging.

The only criticism I would have of this book is that I think it has the tendency to age. Smith refers to various events/signs of our times and these could prove to be either timeless (as references in classics seem to become) or detrimental to its place in the wider realm of fiction.

Almost a week after finishing this novel I am still thinking about it and that, to me, is the hallmark of a great piece of writing. Ali Smith is a bright spark in the smouldering mess that is contemporary fiction and she deserves immense credit for The Accidental.