Girl Meets Boy

Girl meets boy. It's a story as old as time. But what happens when an old story meets a brand new set of circumstances?

Ali Smith's remix of Ovid's most joyful metamorphosis is a story about the kind of fluidity that can't be bottled and sold. It is about girls and boys, girls and girls, love and transformation, a story of puns and doubles, reversals and revelations. Funny and fresh, poetic and political, here is a tale of change for the modern world.

The Myths series brings together some of the world's finest writers, each of whom has retold a myth in a contemporary and memorable way. Authors in the series include Karen Armstrong, Margaret Atwood, A.S. Byatt, David Grossman, Natsuo Kirino, Alexander McCall Smith, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith and Jeanette Winterson.

Review: 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 * *

Prizes: Long-listed for International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award 2011 (Ireland).