[Comments] Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

[Fillyjonk]

Heating and Cooling is AMAZING.

I was reading it on the sofa while Mr. Jonk and Jonk Jr the Elder were cooking dinner, and I kept getting up to go read this one or that one to Mr. Jonk, and my son (who at that time ONLY liked books with dragons) after the third one just YOINKED IT OUT OF MY HANDS and went to the sofa and read the whole thing in one sitting.

[Fillyjonk]

Never read his adult stuff but that sounds dire and unpleasant.

[ptwiddle]

Gah! I read Feb and have something I want to say about it but haven't found the time yet, and it's not now.

But I'm here now so March options quickly -- poetry sounds great. Citizen is on my shelf unread by me, another is Autobiography of Red as it's a "verse novel" and both poetry and a modernization of mythology and so, like a bridge between February and poetry.

Paradise Lost? I loved the first third (Like Inferno as part of The Divine Comedy) of The Changing Light at Sandover; David Merrill and his partner talking to a spirit through a Ouija board.

[PlaidPeregrine]

Egads! March 1st, but it's not midnight on the West Coast, so let's pretend I'm West Coast of the US and it's Feb 28th.

I just want to say that Girl Meets Boy, to me, one of the best reads I've had in a long time. The writing flowed to me with my ADD brain. It was comfortable and beautiful, and came across as a perfect Autumn day full of vibrant colors, and maple everything, while walking with friends. I'm 93% done. I'm putting time aside tomorrow to finish it, though I have no desire for the story to finish. I'm sure I'll have more to say later. Thank you for this offering . It meant a lot.

[lostcheerio]

I think many of us found this book easy to read, in spite of it being formally a bit unusual, with the point of view shifts and stream of consciousness. The scenes didn't have a ton of connective tissue so there was work to be done by the reader, keeping the timeline straight. I can't really put my finger on what made the storytelling so *intuitive* in spite of the formal experimentation, but it was a bit of magic. Just enough departure from tradition to be interesting and magnetic, and not enough to make you feel lost or like it were being intentionally obscured.

The best experimental forms are the ones where you can see the author just finding the best way to tell the story they have to tell, and I think this is a good example of that phenomenon.

We can continue to discuss it into March or whenever. None of these threads will ever close.

[lostcheerio]

Ahoy, friends. Our March thread is up! Let's put some poetry on the grill, with a side salad of art and music.

[lostcheerio]

I finished this wonderful novel today. So lush and spare at the same time. A writer with confidence and momentum. I love it.