Girl Meets Boy Synopsis
Another internationally acclaimed writer contributes a fascinating, compelling reinterpretation of a myth that resonates deeply today.Ligdus and Telethusa are having a child, but they cannot afford to have a girl. Ligdus informs Telethusa that she had better hope for a boy. While this decision makes them both sad, Telethusa must/obey. She prays to Isis, but births a girl and names her Iphis, a name that suited male or female/a neutral name. She convinces everyone, including Ligdus, that Iphis is a boy.Iphis matures and falls in love with another girl, Ianthe, and is engaged for marriage, yet s/he is ruled by the sexual norms of the time: [P]ossessed by love so strange . . . no female wants/a female! but no learned artcan ever make of me/a boy. She attempts to reconcile her love for Ianthe against the pressures of nature. The wedding day is near, Telethusa is desperate, and prays again to Isis. Iphis is transformed, looking like a boy.Is Ovid suggesting that what we think is nature is attitude? Does Iphis grow a penis? Or does Iphis, adopting the characteristics of a boy, remain a girl married to a girl, undermining traditional values?From the Hardcover edition.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780307367341 |
| Publication date: |
29th October 2010 |
| Author: |
Ali Smith |
| Publisher: |
Knopf Canada |
| Format: |
Ebook |
| Primary Genre |
Fiction
|
Ali Smith Press Reviews
Exuberant . . . Slender, sweet natured and lyrical -Guardian -
Joyful -- JEANETTE WINTERSON - The Times -
Girl Meets Boy pulls you in and doesn't let you go . . . bold and brilliant -- JACKIE KAY
A glorious wide-awake dream of a book . . . My heart was beating and tears stood in my eyes, even as I had the biggest smile written all over my face -- KIRSTY GUNN - Observer
Poetic . . . Smith remembers what the ancients knew: that musical words drum a beat through to understanding - The Times
Clever, complex and thrilling - TLS
A joyful and playful remix . . . The result is an ecstatic, exhilarating helter-skelter ride of a story which shows just how relevant Ovid's myth of the transformative power of love is to modern readers - Financial Times
Those familiar with Smith's playfully inventive fiction will not be disappointed by this light-as-air retelling of Ovid's tale . . . this jolly jeu d'esprit wears its heart defiantly on its sleeve - The Times
[A] whimsical spin on the myth of Iphis and Ianthe . . . mischief, enchantment and impish wit . . . [Smith's] dancing prose and nimble storytelling are palpable hits - Sunday Times
In this modern-day reinterpretation, Ali Smith, with humour and typical linguistic versatility, explores issues of homophobia, corporate and social responsibility and the sheer vertiginous feeling of falling in love - Independent on Sunday
About Ali Smith
Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of Free Love and Other Stories, Like, Other Stories and Other Stories, Hotel World, The Whole Story and Other Stories, The Accidental, Girl Meets Boy, The First Person and Other Stories, There but for the, Artful, How to be both, and Public Library and other stories. Hotel World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize and The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Orange Prize. How to be both won the Baileys Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker and the Folio Prize. Ali Smith lives in Cambridge.
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