There but for the

Imagine you give a dinner party and a friend of a friend brings a stranger to your house as his guest. He seems pleasant enough. Imagine that this stranger goes upstairs halfway through the dinner party and locks himself in one of your bedrooms and won't come out. Imagine you can't move him for days, weeks, months. If ever. This is what Miles does, in a chi-chi house in the historic borough of Greenwich, in the years 2009 and 2010., in There but for the. Who is Miles, then? And what does it mean, exactly, to live with other people? Sharply satricial and sharply compassionate, with an eye to the meanings of the smallest of words and the slightest of resonances, There but for the fuses disparate perspectives in a crucially communal expression of identity, and explores our very human attempts to navigate between despair and hope, enormity and intimacy, cliche and grace. Ali Smith's dazzling new novel is a funny, moving book about time, memory, thought, presence, quietness in a noisy time, and the importance of hearing ourselves think. 'Remarkable. A brilliant novel: funny, serious, always surprising.' Erica Wagner, The Times 'Whimsically devastating, playful, humorous, serious, profoundly clever and profoundly affecting.' Alex Clark, Guardian 'I take my hat off to Ali Smith. Her writing lifts the soul.' Melanie McGrath, Evening Standard 'Dazzling, spry, agile, funny.' Sunday Telegraph 'Smith's talent for breathing life into characters is second to none.' Time Out 'A playfully serious, or seriously playful, novel full of wit and pleasure.' Sarah Churchwell, Observer 'Full of graceful and witty prose, this novel is a real joy.' Good Housekeeping 'Not just supple, it's acrobatic. Smith can make anything happen, which is why she is one of our most exciting writers today.' Telegraph 'Compelling, playful, intelligent, witty.' Lionel Shriver, Financial Times