list.co.uk/books REVIEW
BOOKER LONGLIST ALI SMITH How to be Both (Hamish Hamilton) ●●●●● Being longlisted for the Man Booker Prize before publication adds heady expectations to a novel, but with How to be Both, Ali Smith has reasserted herself as one of the UK’s most inventive and progressive writers. Replicating techniques borrowed from fresco painters, Smith tells two completely different but deceptively similar parable-laden tales.
In the contemporary world lives George, a teenager approaching womanhood, while in 1460s Italy, renaissance artist Francesco attempts to make a living from his brush while concealing a deep secret about himself. Both characters are haunted by the loss of their mothers, their similarities illustrating the ageless struggle of the human condition. Both halves of the novel interweave in the most unexpected ways, becoming metaphysical and timeless as George becomes fixated by one of Francesco’s paintings, while the painter himself observes George from another dimension entirely.
Depending on which of the two available versions of the novel you
read, the experience differs – in some editions, George’s story follows Francesco’s and in others, vice-versa. It’s a bold concept which at times is disorientating, but it is one that perfectly illustrates the themes of reinvention and perspective in the novel. At which point does it begin, and where does it end? The prose is lyrical and at times opaque as Smith plays with form and
structure, but this creates a truly immersive experience. Dealing with grief, obsession, sexuality and the versatility of art itself, Smith has created a stunning work that is as rewarding as it is challenging. (Kevin Scott) ■ Out Thu 28 Aug.
WHO IS . . . RANDALL MUNROE? At the age of 29, Pennsyl- vania-born Randall Munroe is a former roboticist for NASA who has given a TED talk and who has an asteroid named after him. Yet it’s his webcomic xkcd which has brought him all his public success. As he prepares to launch new book, What If?, we look (non-scientifically) at what he’s all about. What is xkcd? A word which has no mean- ing, and which Munroe particularly likes because it has no actual phonetic pronunciation. It’s also his regular stick-figure web comic, in which a generation of geeks and science-literate readers are tickled by jokes about maths, science and technology. What’s the new book about? Entitled What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Ques- tions, it’s a compilation of xkcd’s ‘What If?’ columns, in which readers pose not entirely serious or just plain baffling questions to Munroe and he attempts to answer them in as scientifically straight a manner as possible. What kind of questions? How fast, for example, can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire, a touchy subject right now? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans would a T rex rampaging through New York need to eat every day to survive? These, the blurb tells us, are exactly the kind of questions you’ll find out the answers to. Possibly. (David Pollock) ■ What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is released on Thu 4 Sep from John Murray.
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication by using our ‘Add an Event’ service at list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Jaclyn Arndt. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 21 Glasgow FREE Drama Queens: Play Reading for Pleasure Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, 550 2267. 2.30–4.30pm. Join in play reading, featuring some all-women plays. No acting skills required, just sit with a cup of tea and muck in. FREE Arild Vange and Neil Davidson CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. Improvised poetry readings from Norwegian poet Vange and guitarist and composer Davidson. Aye-Aye Books presents.
Edinburgh Edinburgh International Book Festival Charlotte Square Gardens, Charlotte Square, 0845 373 5888. Until Mon 25 Aug. Times vary. Prices vary. The world’s largest public celebration of the written word draws to a close, with Haruki Murakami, Sara Sheridan, Nathan Coley, Gruff Rhys, Mark Billingham, Blake Morrison and the shortlisted writers of the James Tait Black Prize still to come. FREE Edinburgh Book Fringe Word Power Bookshop, 43 West Nicolson Street, 662 9112. Until Sat 23 Aug. 1–2pm. Taking place in radical bookshop Word Power, the Book Fringe brings together writers and activists from around the world for a host of daily readings and discussions. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Poetry for the Palace: Poets Laureate from Dryden to Duffy The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, 556 5100. 9.30am–6pm. £6.50. Until Sun 2 Nov. Included in admission. An exhibition looking at the role of the Poet Laureate across the centuries and celebrating the work of the current Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. With presentation volumes, original manuscripts and images of poets including Dryden, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Betjeman and Hughes, among others, it’s an exploration of the relationship between the poet and the monarch.
Friday 22 Glasgow FREE Read Aloud! Celebrating Commonwealth Women’s Writing Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, 550 2267. 1–3pm. Help the GWL develop a new Commonwealth Women’s section at the library, and gain some new research, reviewing and writing skills. Review Writing Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, 550 2267. 1–3pm. £2 (free). Writer and GWL Reader-in-Residence Magi Gibson helps you craft a lively and engaging review in your own voice. Bring along a book by a woman author to review.
Saturday 23
Glasgow Lesley Riddoch: Blossom – What Scotland Needs to Flourish The Glad Café, 1006a Pollokshaws Road, 636 6119. 4pm. £5. The journalist and commentator takes her new book on the road and discusses the impending referendum. A Glad Academy event. Innerleithen Beyond Borders International Festival of Literature and Thought Traquair House, 557 7775. Until Sun 24 Aug. Times vary. Prices vary. Writers, speakers, artists, politicians and performers come
Events | BOOKS
together for this two-day festival of thought to discuss and debate current affairs, with a programme that spans literary walks, live music and bike rides. This year’s highlights include Paul Conroy, Caroline McNairn, Rob Penn, Peter Sacks and Jim Naughtie, as well as a foraging walk in the surroundings of Traquair House. Sunday 24
Edinburgh Appletree Writing Workshops The Whole Works, Jackson Close, 209 Royal Mile, appletreewriters.co.uk 10.30am– 1pm. £15. Learn from those who have done it before. Today’s course is ‘Getting It on the Page’ with Sheree Mack.
Monday 25
Glasgow FREE Gaelic Writing Group CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. Workshops for writing in Gaelic or Scots and English, with facilitator Catriona Lexy-Campbell. Ages 16 up.
Tuesday 26
Edinburgh Reading and Identity: A Conference National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3734. 9.30am–4.45pm. Free but ticketed. An investigation into the nature and purpose of reading in today’s world at this one- day conference for librarians, academics and creative practitioners. Catriona Child: Swim until You Can’t See Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8218. 6.30pm. Free but ticketed. Child introduces her latest book, which follows the relationship between two women born 60 years apart. FREE Martin Metcalfe and Paul Hullah: Scenes – Words, Pictures and Music Word Power Bookshop, 43 West Nicolson Street, 662 9112. 7.30pm. Painter Metcalfe and poet Hullah launch their new collaborative book.
Wednesday 27 Edinburgh New Writing Scotland Launch Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8218. 6pm. Free but ticketed. Celebrate the publication’s latest volume, ‘Songs of Other Places’. It’s edited by Gerry Cambridge and Zoë Strachan and features contributions from Claire Askew, Ron Butlin, Alison Flett, Brian Johnstone and others.
Friday 29
Glasgow FREE Read Aloud! Celebrating Commonwealth Women’s Writing Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, 550 2267. 1–3pm. See Fri 22. Word Play Riverside Museum, 100 Pointhouse Place, 287 2660. 1–4pm. £2 suggested donation. A special ‘busking session’ of the Word Factory’s regular open mic night, hosted in the museum’s mock subway.
Edinburgh Guid Crack Club Waverley Bar, 1 St Mary’s Street, 557 1050. 7.30pm. £3 suggested donation. Storytelling club involving song and music aplenty. This month, stories from Britain’s highest village in ‘Head in the Cloud’, with Jean Edmiston. Largs Tidelines Book Festival Various venues, tidelinesbookfest.wordpress. com Until Sun 7 Sep. Times vary. Prices vary. Largs-based book festival with a great little line-up of events for kids and adults alike. This year’s fest includes Ron Butlin, Lesley Riddoch, Caro Ramsay and Roald Dahl Celebrations for the tots.
21 Aug–18 Sep 2014 THE LIST 47