How to be Both by Ali Smith is two novels in one that eventually converge and overlap. It’s written in a totally original style and voice, and once you allow yourself to be taken away by the book, it becomes a wonderful, playful journey.

There is Francesco del Cossa, an Italian Renaissance painter, and George, a modern day teenage girl dealing with the loss of her Mother. Through questions of art, time, gender, etc, the two become linked.  

Smith pushes the boundaries of what a novel can be, and for this alone, it’s worth a read.