This novel is unlike any I have read before. Ali Smith is able to intertwine the art of the novel with an analytical look at art. The story starts out with a Woman being haunted by the image of her dead Husband. She imagines him around her house, working or sleeping. Eventually her image of him because tricky because he starts to affect her reality by hiding things around the house and stealing from book stores.

Throughout these occurrences, her husband continues to work on his unfinished Speeches even though they will never be presented. The speeches discuss the meaning of art, in all forms, and its societal importance. Each chapter starts off with the woman depicting the image of her husband around her and then eventually leads into her reading his speeches one at a time. Each speech delves into the ideas of art and literature, describing it with incomparable beauty to anything written before. The speeches present beautiful poetry and stories while analyzing their bases and purpose. Honestly, after reading this novel I think I will have an even better grasp on literature than I ever did before.

While the readers know barely anything about this couple, not even their names, these two characters feel entirely full because their love and interests are presented in a way that can only be described by the word Artful.

Current Music: James River Blues- Old Crow Medicine Show