There But For The Ali Smith by Ali Smith 9780307275240, 0307275248, B004J4X7A8 instant download after payment.

"Her simple, economical, blade-sharp prose dignifies whatever subject she chooses, and endows even the oddest human behaviour with an inarguable inner logic."  -  Brooke Allen, The Atlantic Monthly

Miles communicates only by cryptic notes slipped under the door. We see him through the eyes of four people who barely know him, ranging from a precocious child to a confused elderly woman. But while the characters’ wit and wordplay soar, their story remains profoundly grounded. 

"I love the brassy blast of [Smith's] outrage at the world's injustices and the drumbeat of her passion for the arts. This Scottish writer gravitates naturally to outsiders and really understands loss and grief. She takes a genuine interest in old people and what we can learn from them but also sees hope for the future in smart young people. I love her clever wordplay, her insistence on the life-enhancing possibilities of love and decency, and her ability to compose artful literature that sings of both humanity's heart and heartbreaks."  -  Heller McAlpin, NPR

As it probes our paradoxical need for both separation and true connection, There But For The balances cleverness with compassion, the surreal with the deeply, movingly real, in a way that only Ali Smith can.