Summary of How to Be Both
“How to Be Both” is a novel that consists of two distinct but interconnected stories. One part is told by George, a teenage girl from modern-day Cambridge whose mother has recently passed away, and who recalls a trip they took to Ferrara, a city in Northern Italy. The other part is narrated by Francesco del Cossa, a 15th-century Italian Renaissance artist who painted the famous frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara.
Reasons to read How to Be BothÂ
“How to Be Both” was published in two versions – one starting with George’s story and the other with Francesco’s. This unconventional arrangement does more than merely play with form; it fundamentally shapes the way the reader will experience the novel. “How to Be Both” is an intelligent exploration of loss, art, and gender. The novel won the 2014 Costa Book Award for Novel, the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, and was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Ali Smith, a Scottish writer, also won the Costa Book Award for her earlier novel “The Accidental” in 2015.
Setting: Ferrara (Italy) & Cambridge (UK)
Original title: How to Be Both
Year of publication: 2014
Nr of pages: 336
