Book: How to Be Both

"How to Be Both" by Ali Smith is a masterful exploration of duality and the interplay between past and present, art and life, reality and perception. The novel is uniquely structured in two parts, allowing the reader to encounter its stories in different sequences, thereby altering its interpretation with each reading. One narrative follows George, a contemporary teenage girl grappling with the sudden loss of her mother, who was an art aficionado. As she navigates her grief, she finds solace and connection in art, particularly in the works of the Renaissance painter Francesco del Cossa. The other narrative transports readers to 15th-century Italy, where Francesco himself is an artist pushing the boundaries of his time, experiencing their own journey of identity and creativity. Through these intertwined tales, Smith delves into themes of gender, transformation, and the enduring power of art to transcend time and connect disparate lives. Her inventive storytelling and poetic prose invite readers to ponder the fluidity of identity and the myriad ways stories can be told.