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The Whole Story and Other Stories (Paperback)

by Ali Smith (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 177 pages
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd (24 April 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0241141109
ISBN-13: 978-0241141106
Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 660,303 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

A brilliant collection of new short stories by the Booker and Orange prize shortlisted author of HOTEL WORLD. Stories for people who've grown up being told time is running out - and don't want it to...How do you ever know the whole story? How do you ever know even part of the story? How do you find meaning when chance and coincidence could, after all, just be chance and coincidence? In a celebration of connections and missed connections, an inquiry into everything from flies and trees and books to sex, art, drunkenness and love, Smith rewrites the year's cycle into a very modern calendar.

About the Author

Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962 and lives in Cambridge. Her first collection of stories, FREE LOVE, won the Saltire First Book Award. Her first novel, LIKE, was published in 1997, and her second collection of stories, OTHER STORIES AND OTHER STORIES, in 1999. Her prize-winning novel HOTEL WORLD was published in 2001.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	67% buy the item featured on this page: The Whole Story and Other Stories 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
	14% buy Other Stories and Other Stories 4.7 out of 5 stars (3) �5.47
	7% buy Hotel World 3.6 out of 5 stars (20) �5.31
	7% buy The First Person and Other Stories 4.0 out of 5 stars (3) �4.99

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly perfect, 5 Jun 2003

By A Customer

This is a great book. Ali Smith has the purest prose voice I could imagine - she couldn't be less pretentious, and a lot of the time she makes writing well seem incredibly easy - but there is a lot going on here, her seeming transparency doesn't mean anything is that simple. These stories really make you think. Everything they look at becomes real. Everyday activities we more or less ignore are described with enough love that their peculiarity - which is sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing, sometimes both - becomes apparent. I thought _Hotel World_ was a little gimmicky compared to her previous short stories and novel; this book is a return to form and, I suspect, to what she really wanted to do in the first place. And if reading and liking _Hotel World_ encourages people to read these, it's well worth it.

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some outstanding stories, some not, 9 May 2003

By	Katherine H. Robinson "katierobinson85" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Of the twelve stories in this book the ones that stand out are without a doubt "may" and "erosive." The former is a story of someone who falls in love with a tree ("I couldn't not. It was in blossom"). The story manages to be amusing and touching at the same time. Despite it being a bizarre idea it is done really well, and I though the ending was quite sad, it is written from the perspective of the neglected lover. "Erosive" is my favourite story of the book. It's short, and has a titled beginning, middle and end, with the Beginning written last. It's a love story but it's is done without any sentimentality, it is really fresh and pure. Certain lines are really striking such as "look at me now, here I am at the beginning, the middle and the end all at once…and behind it all, dull as a blown-out lightbulb, the fact of the word never."

The other 10 stories don't live up to the same standard in my opinion. With the exceptions of "believe me" and "the start of things" they don't seem to have the same simple yet striking emotion. Several of the stories are written in two sections, from the perspectives of each half of a couple, and you can't tell who is male or female which is interesting but slightly irritating, though you can just about work it out from the final story. Overall the book is fresh, quirky, amusing, touching in places, and though a bit hit-and-miss I would buy it if only for the stories mentioned above.

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4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One molecule said yes to another....., 23 Feb 2005

By	aceadrian (Cumbria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole Story and Other Stories (Paperback)

This book is perfect for some people, but terrible for others! Its a set of short stories dealing with love, not always love of a person, sometimes love of a creature, a tree, and inanimate object, a situation. Even love of nothing in particular, sometimes its not clear what its about, but there's something in each story waiting to be found. Its a very easy to read book, you can turn the pages quickly and you certainly don't have to concentrate too hard to get into it, that probably makes it perfect for train journeys and the like.
The stories are very different and very personal, almost seeming like small snapshots of peoples lives, like looking through a photo album with pictures of different families inside, they talk about the way people live their lives and the relationships they have with each other, be that love or dependency. In fact the stories don't all have a point to them at all, they don't start and finish like a novel, but that adds to the enjoyment, like you are skipping into and out of each of the worlds that Smith creates.
Most of the stories have a little twist, certainly a little humour and each certainly brings some degree of a connection, a reality, you could imagine the people walking past you everyday could be the people in the book.
Pointless, yet real, enjoyable and fun. I liked them and im thinking of buying something else by Smith.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another brilliant collection from Ali Smith
Ali Smith is the best writer I have ever come across. She is like no other.
The Whole Story and Other Stories is a great collection of stories. Read more

Published 3 months ago by R. Matthews

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