There But For The by Ali Smith

It starts out as your usual dinner party — plenty of wine, a few clashes over politics and religion, a blowhard guest or two. But halfway through the meal, Miles goes upstairs, locks himself in one of the guest bedrooms and refuses to come out. That’s the premise behind Ali Smith’s latest novel, a sometimes funny, sometimes touching look at memory, identity and just how we connect with one another.

There But For The, Ali Smith, $18. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.