Like (novel)
Encyclopedia
Like is the debut novel
by Scottish
author Ali Smith
, first published in 1997 in the UK by Virago and in the following year in the US by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it draws much from Ali Smith's own life growing up Inverness
and then moving to Cambridge
as a student.
When a random phone call for an interview brings mention of her one-time friendship with a young actress named Aisling (Ash) McCarthy, the mysteries of Amy's unraveled life begin to settle.
The second half of the book is a journal, written by Amy's old friend and actress, Aisling McCarthy, found in a box of Amy's old journals that her daughter Kate has read. Ash's journal is a headlong rush through her relationship with Amy from its dizzy beginning to its fiery end. Ash's journal highlights a tale of opposites - with twin desires as well as a subtle metaphor of Scotland and England themselves: two countries forever connected and forever apart.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
author Ali Smith
Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a British writer.She was born to working-class parents, raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, for a PhD that was never finished. She worked as a lecturer at University of...
, first published in 1997 in the UK by Virago and in the following year in the US by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it draws much from Ali Smith's own life growing up Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and then moving to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
as a student.
Plot introduction
The novel is told in two parts: the first is set in present-day Scotland where Amy Shone, a seemingly itinerant and illiterate drifter has just found work as the caretaker of a caravan site and camping ground. She lives with her nearly eight-year old daughter, Kate, and their patchwork lives are thrown into relief with glimpses of Amy's more glamorous past, when she was a Cambridge scholar.When a random phone call for an interview brings mention of her one-time friendship with a young actress named Aisling (Ash) McCarthy, the mysteries of Amy's unraveled life begin to settle.
The second half of the book is a journal, written by Amy's old friend and actress, Aisling McCarthy, found in a box of Amy's old journals that her daughter Kate has read. Ash's journal is a headlong rush through her relationship with Amy from its dizzy beginning to its fiery end. Ash's journal highlights a tale of opposites - with twin desires as well as a subtle metaphor of Scotland and England themselves: two countries forever connected and forever apart.
Reception
- 'Beautifully written in precise, poetic prose' - The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
- 'Ingenious, shimmering fiction, written with a poetic grace that subtly illuminates the tensions between hope and desire, between past and present" — Scotland on SundayScotland on SundayScotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...