A DREAM COME TRUE

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, May 22, 2005 | by ALAN TAYLOR

"It gives you a measure of how people see and feel books, " she says. What's missing is any sense of context. Contrary to the current climate, books are not like islands, entire of their selves. Their natural habitat is a library, surrounded by other books.

Books breed other books. To get the most from one you must read lots. In that regard, every book is a palimpsest, an echo of all the books that have gone before. Thus a writer avoids repetition and finds originality. Ali Smith is an original. Treasure her.

The Accidental is published by Hamish Hamilton, 12.99. Ali Smith's Supersonic 70s is published by Penguin, 1.50