I liked the creative element of this novel, but I was disappointed to never find out why Milo stayed there.

Ali Smith makes me concentrate, makes me think, makes me laugh. I love her exploration of language and thought as well as her observation of the way we communicate...or think we do.

Well, this is a most peculiar book, very surprising and ingenious, quite different from anything you are likely to have read in the recent past or in the near future for that matter. Even the title leaves you thinking something is a bit odd...

The very meandering plot revolves around Miles Garth, an ethical consultant, somewhere in his forties, who, one night at a dinner party in Greenwich, gets up between courses, makes his way upstairs to the spare room and locks himself in. Indefinitely. You would probably get up and isolate yourself too if you were at a dinner party with guests such as were at this dinner party. Nevertheless we never find out why he takes this course of action, in fact the reason, whatever it may be, has no bearing at all on how the story unfolds. Almost overnight Miles becomes a cause celebre, with people camping out in the street to catch a glimpse of him, organising a food delivery by basket and rope (he is vegetarian and the owner of the house he refuses to leave only feeds him slim slices of ham slid under the door), and media swarming as media does.

Four people, closely and loosely associated with Miles narrate the four chapters - There, But, For, The. Anna met Miles on a bus tour of Europe some 20 years prior; Mark is Miles' boyfriend and had taken Miles with him to the dinner party; May is an elderly lady biding time and hating it in a rest home; and Brooke is a nine year old girl, highly intelligent, lively, bordering on precocious and loving it. There are other people too on the periphery such as the other dinner party guests, Mark's long deceased rhyme loving mother, May's husband and Brooke's parents as well as Jen, the dinner party hostess.

The message or theme of this book? Not entirely sure, but feel it has something to do with No Man Is An Island, or maybe he is, and one state or the other is neither a bad thing or a good thing. Confused?

So we play a bit loose with the point of the book but the real pleasure of this book, what stopped me from putting it down and thinking all a bit too odd really, is the writing. It is an absolute joy to read because Ms Smith is a master of words - puns galore (Brooke LOVES puns); witty clever dialogue used in such a way that the character of the speaker is revealed without us really knowing anything about them - the dinner party is fantastic reading (I read it twice); enlightening discussions about the word 'But' for example. Brooke is truly delightful, she would be an impossible child to have in a classroom, but her observations of the adults around her, her passionate interest in her home town of Greenwich as the place that Western time is measured from, (read symbolism for the time passing in the lives of the characters) marks her out as quite the most interesting character in the book.

The whole thing is really quite genius, I just loved her use of language, it dances all over and it all contributed to the package of what is quite an unusual book, but all in a good way. Even if I am not quite sure of its raison d'etre.

To be frank, the book was more or less of a disappointment. Maybe it's because I don't understand what the author is trying to convey or mostly because I despised every single character. Everyone in the novel seems to be wandering around aimlessly wanting and trying to justify something. Too many two-faced hypocrites at the dinner party and too many idiotic people in the "Milo" crowd.

The plot was going nowhere and in the end I was left with many unanswered questions... Most notably, what the hell was going on in Miles's head?

In addition, although I feel like I should be charmed by Brooke's innocent and curious nature, I was beyond annoyed by her myriad of questions and weird reasoning... I was half wondering towards the end, when she'll ever shut up and stop being so "cleverist".

Only gave it a two star because well... The book offered some interesting insights and food for thought.

Actually pretty delightful!

Great book. Ali Smith is a master of explaining people and situations by describing the space around them- like painting a image by colouring in the silhouette around it. Insights into the experience of illness/dementia and how a 10 year old experiences the adult world are highlights of this book.