Ali Smith: Hotel World Alžběta Šerclová Soňa Pilátová

Contemporary Scottish literature  Alasdair Gray (Lanark – 4 books, in the order 3,1,2,4 + a Prologue before Book Three, and an Epilogue 4 chapters before the end of the book)  James Kelman  Jeff Torrington  Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting)  The Trash Can Sinatras – a Scottish Indie-Pop music band, Smith wrote the lyrics for their song Half an Apple

Our choice  The writer is a woman.  We have not read anything Scottish yet.  The cover caught our attention.  The genre and the plot seemed extraordinary.

Ali Smith  *1962, Iverness, Scotland  She has been with her lesbian partner Sarah Wood for 20 years.  In 2007 her article about the Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women was published.  The 1st work: Free Love and Other Stories (1995)  The 1st novel:Like (1997)

Quotation  “Dead I, four floors between me and the world, that´s all it took to take me, that´s the measure of it, the lenght and the death of it, the short goodb--.” (page 4)  “There is a word for heated-up bread. I know it. I knew it. No, it´s gone. ” (page 9)

What we want to tell you about the book  It goes over the edge of the classical senses. Smith tries to discover how it looks after the death.  It shows us various types of people´s characters, lives, problems and thoughts.  It is written in experimental style.

What we didn´t know before we read Hotel World  Not many facts about Scottish literature (e.g. experimental book Lanark).  Nothing about the author – Ali Smith.  That stream of consciousness can be easily read and understood.

Conclusion  The book is readable and well-written.  It catches the reader’s attention because of the affectionate way in which it is written.  The reader almost doesn't realize the author is using stream of consciousness because the thoughts are so close to him (the reader).  The reader understands and is a part of the novel.

Resources  Ali Smith: Hotel World, Penguin Books, 2002, UK, ISBN   (all websites accessed 06/12/2008)