Ali Smith: Uyŏnhan pangmungaek (Korean language, 2010, Raendŏm Hausŭ)
369 pages
Korean language
Published Oct. 8, 2010 by Raendŏm Hausŭ.
Talking her way into the Norfolk cottage that the Smart family is renting for the summer, Amber, an enigmatic con artist, insinuates herself into the lives of Eve, her husband Michael, and their children.
A Super-TOB comment said it best: "September 2020 was not the right time for me to read The Accidental. I can appreciate what Ali Smith was trying to do, but my brain needs more plot and less introspection right now."
This was a weird book. Not that is wasn't enjoyable because it was. But what makes it weird is the reader is at a loss as to if the character of Amber was malevolent or benevolent. Were the characters that encountered Amber's unique form of "friendship" better off by knowing her? Who was Amber? Where did she come from, where did she go? Was her visit premeditated? All these questions are left ultimately to the imagination of the reader. And what about that ending? What was that all about?
