Ali Smith's new book Companion Piece has just been published, but we're actually reviewing an older book of hers: There But For The. We talk about the structure of this novel-in-stories and how it differs in form from Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. We also talk about why this very good novel may not have widespread appeal and how voice and race comes into play in a book not overtly about race.

For this series, we will read and discuss three novels-in-stories: Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad Mar 25 - Apr 8, Ali Smith's There But For The Apr 15- 29, and Anthony Marra's The Tsar of Love and Techno May 6 - 20.

You can join our book club discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

You can also support us by buying There But For The or another book from one of our curated lists:  https://bookshop.org/shop/CanonicalPod. We earn a commission on every purchase and your local indie bookstore gets a cut too!

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!