Companion Piece Review

A celebration of companionship in all its timeless and contemporary, legendary and unpindownable, spellbinding and shapeshifting forms...

It follows the unique achievement of her Seasonal cycle of novels - Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer - written and published in as close as possible to real time, between 2016 and 2020, absorbing and refracting the times we are living through: the 'state-of-the-nation novels which understand that the nation is you, is me, is all of us' (New Statesman).

General Impressions

I requested "Companion Piece" on a whim after seeing Ali Smith's name around without ever dreaming I would be approved so I could not believe my eyes when I got it in the mail.

This was my first work by Ali Smith and I truly understand why she is so loved. This was not a book that might easily be reviewed, as it is a work of art, and will speak to everyone differently.

I read this book in a matter of hours, I simply could not stop myself. This book reminded me a bit of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich in that it's very much a product of these last couple of years and it will be a record of it forever. It features, ghosts, the pandemic, is narrated by someone pushed to the edge of society and themes such as racism, economic inequality, discrimination, xenophobia and pandemic deniers.

As well as Covid, this book also features the Black Plague and traces a parallel between the aftermath of it, serving almost as a warning of what is already happening, which was informative and chilling but it also features characters finding peace and choosing to be kind on the face of cruelty.

Thank you to Penguin and Hamish Hamilton for sending me this proof.

Rating: 5/5