Book: How to be both

ALI SMITH, loves to use unconventional forms. The Booker Prize short-listed How To Be Both begins as a poem, changes to standard paragraphs, then goes back to a poem; it is anything but an ordinary read.

The book is split into two sections; one following the spirit of the Renaissance painter Francesco del Cossa as he explores the modern world, and the other focusing on troubled teenager George.

It has been printed with the stories in different orders, as Smith insists that either can be read first.

Smith explores the idea that gender isn’t fixed. Del Cossa is born a girl but decides to become a boy and when we first meet the somewhat androgynous looking George, she is presumed to be a boy.

In fact, the entire novel proves that time, forms, genders and narratives can be changed. Such an unusual book may seem intimidating on first glance; it certainly makes you think. However, the story flows effortlessly, and it’s an enjoyable, witty and gripping read.