The beginning
of things -- when is it exactly?
An edition of The Accidental
(2005)
the accidental
1st Anchor books ed. (1)
by Ali Smith
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The Accidental is the dizzyingly entertaining, wickedly humorous story of a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance during a family's summer holiday transforms four variously unhappy people. Each of the Smarts--parents Eve and Michael, son Magnus, and the youngest, daughter Astrid--encounter Amber in his or her own solipsistic way, but somehow her presence allows them to see their lives (and their life together) in a new light. Smith's exhilarating facility with language, her narrative freedom, her chromatic wordplay propel the novel to its startling, wonderfully enigmatic conclusion.
Ali Smith's acclaimed novel not only won the prestigious Whitbread Award but was also a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Orange Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
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Subjects
literary fiction, Literature, Summer resorts, Truthfulness and falsehood, Strangers, Social conditions, Fiction, Women biographers, psychological fiction, domestic fiction, Large type books, Great britain, fiction, Fiction, general, 18.05 English literature, Fiction, psychological, English literature, Young women, fictionPlaces
Norfolk (England), Great Britain, Norfolk, EnglandShowing 10 featured editions. View all 15 editions?
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
01
The Accidental
2020, Penguin Books
Paperback
in English
- Penguin Essentials Edition (001)
0241989116 9780241989111
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02
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03
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04
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05
the accidental
2007-04, Anchor Books
Paperback
in English
- 1st Anchor books ed. (1)
1400032180 9781400032181
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06
the accidental
2007-04, Anchor Books
Paperback
in English
- 1st Anchor books ed. (1)
1400032180 9781400032181
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07
The accidental
2006, Pantheon Books
Hardcover
in English
- First American Edition (1)
0375422250 9780375422256
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08
The Accidental
2006?, Pantheon Books
Hardcover
in English
- First American Edition (1)
0375422250 9780375422256
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09
the accidental
2006, Thorndike Press
Hardcover
in English
- Large Print Edition
0786285745 9780786285747
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10
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Book Details
Published in
New York
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Work Description
The Accidental is a 2005 novel by Scottish author Ali Smith. It follows a middle-class English family who are visited by an uninvited guest, Amber, while they are on holiday in a small village in Norfolk. Amber's arrival has a profound effect on all the family members. Eventually she is cast out the house by the mother, Eve. But the consequences of her appearance continue even after the family has returned home to London.
The novel was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, the Man Booker Prize and James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and it won the Whitbread Award.
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| November 17, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
| October 12, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Merge works |
| October 12, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Merge works |
| September 29, 2021 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
| December 9, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |