Contemporary Reads: The Accidental

The Accidental (2005) by Ali Smith is a dark, funny, dazzling novel. Every chapter is narrated by a different member of the Smart family or the stranger they let into their lives on a summer holiday in Norfolk, Amber -named after the Alhambra cinema she was conceived in.

The reader gets an insight into each character's personality, dreams and fears. Smith has managed to give them each their own distinct voice:

Astrid the 12 year old daughter: loves filming with her camera, is pretty much self-absorbed in her own world. Becomes besotted with Amber.
Magnus the teenage son: suspended from school as is involved in a bullying case which resulted in the victim's suicide. Becomes Amber's lover.
Michael Magnus's father and Astrid's step-father: English literature professor, womaniser who has affairs with her female students. The man who abhors clichés and yet manages to become one.
Eve mother, wife and fairly succesful author: suffers from writer's block and pretends not to know about her husband's escapades.
And, finally, Amber: we don't know much about her other than she manages to seduce all the Smarts somehow and is suspected of burglaring their London house.

Full of cinematic references from Bergman to Hitchcock via Richard Curtis, this book is original and daring and a damn good read.

If you want to read Jeannette Winterson's interview with the author, please click here