The Whole Story and Other Stories Paperback - 2004

From the jacket flap

From the critically acclaimed author of Hotel World comes a collection of uniquely inventive stories that thread the labyrinth of coincidence, chance, and connections missed and made.
What happens when you run into Death in a busy train station? (You know he's Death because when he smiles, your cell phone goes dead.) What if your lover falls in love with a tree? Should you be jealous? From the woman pursued by a band of bagpipers in full regalia to the artist who's built a seven-foot boat out of secondhand copies of The Great Gatsby," Smith's characters are offbeat, charming, sexy, and as wonderfully complex as life itself.

Media reviews

“Ali Smith has got style, ideas and punch. Read her.” —Jeanette Winterson

“One of Britain’s major talents. . . . Startlingly accomplished.” —The Atlantic Monthly

“A joy to read.” —Sunday Times (London)

“Smith is a gifted and meticulous architect of character and voice.” —The Washington Post

“She’s street-savvy and poignant at once. . . . There’s a kind of stainless steel clarity at the center of her fiction.” —The Boston Globe

“Smith proves herself an experimental writer even your mother could love.” —Elle

Citations

• Atlantic Monthly, 05/01/2004, Page 137
• Booklist, 02/15/2004, Page 1038
• Kirkus Reviews, 12/15/2003, Page 1421
• New York Times, 03/21/2004, Page 16
• Publishers Weekly, 03/01/2004, Page 51