TITLE: The First Person and other stories
AUTHOR: Ali Smith
PUB DATE: January 6 2009
This was a book I had won on Twitter. I have to thank Penguin Group Canada for sending me this book to read and review. I have never read Ali Smith before so it was a real treat. Not only was it a quick read but it also exposed me to a new author. Ali has several books out.
The First Person is a compilation of twelve short stories. The books is about how the imagination reacts to every day people, conversations and situations people may be a part of.
True Short Story is the first story of the book. Its about an over heard conversation about the differences between a novel and short story. While listening to this conversation the author thinks of her friend who is in the hospital dealing with her cancer treatments. She calls her to ask her opinion as she knows everything about short stories.
The Child is about a woman who has stopped at the grocery store to do a quick pick up. She walks away from her cart to go and look for something and then when she returns there is a child sitting there. She waits for a few minutes to see if an parent returns but no one does. She goes to customer service. She tries and fails to persuade the staff or other shoppers that the child isn’t hers. No one listens to her so she feels bad and decides to take the child home. On the way home she is shocked to hear the things coming from the child. Getting annoyed she decides to drop the child off in the middle of a forest. Several hours later she feels bad and decides to go back for the child. She then heads to another story to drop the child off in someone Else’s cart.
The stories are a quick and fun read. I am sure I will pick up other books by her to read.
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