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Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives

2014; Oxford University Press; Volume: 9; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/cww/vpu008

1754-1484

Emma Young,

Scottish History and National Identity

As the first book dedicated entirely to discussing the work of the contemporary Scottish writer, Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives, edited by Monica Germanà and Emily Horton, marks an important moment in academic attention to Smith. This edited collection positions Smith at the heart of contemporary writing and amid other acclaimed authors, including Sarah Waters, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, and Andrea Levy. As such, it is a timely and interesting guide to Smith’s contribution to contemporary literature. In their introduction to the collection, Germanà and Horton emphasize the centrality of “postmodern motifs, structures and influences in Smith’s work” but nevertheless surmise that, “on the whole, these collected essays tend to challenge Smith’s postmodern designation, highlighting her concern with ethics and notions of authenticity and materiality as extending her work beyond the dominant scepticism in the postmodern era” (6). Accordingly, the overall impression that the book projects is of Smith navigating the complex terrain of postmodern thought and being at once complicit with, yet openly sceptical of, its defining tenets – a fair summation of this facet of her literary contribution to date.