The recipient of the second TILA is Ali Smith (pictured below) for her novel Companion Piece, and for the The Four Seasons quartet of novels (Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer).
Speaking about Companion Piece, TILA’s founders said, “This is another perfect gem in the series created by Ali Smith. It can stand alone, but like The Four Seasons Quartet, it picks up the moods and the problems of our time. Here they are epitomised by the challenge of preserving our humanity in the face of social disruption, frustration, distraction, isolation, and bad behaviour.
For the wise and generous-spirited Sandy, the central character, it’s her art and her unerring instinct for words and their meaning which helps keep her grounded, while she deals with an ailing father and a virtual home invasion from an appalling family group including the most monstrous twins in literature.
Always reasonable, always sensible, Sandy stands as a rock in the turbulent tides of recent pandemic times. And she continues to create, to live a full life of the mind, nourished by words and images. We the readers are allowed to be amused and horrified by the forces unleashed upon Sandy, but we are never in doubt that she will prevail.
Inserted neatly within the novel is a moving story of a female locksmith from medieval times, with one of her intricate locks serving as the McGuffin, as well as a tribute to indomitable women in all times.”
On the Four Seasons quartet of novels that immediately preceded Companion Piece, the founders said, “We eagerly read each volume as it came out. Each stands alone, but they are linked by Ali Smith’s poetic prose and the references to real-life female artists. She has looked into art with the gaze of a modern John Berger, and she appears to be able to examine and “see” language, and especially poetry, the same way.
The books in the quartet appeared in very quick succession. They are diverse but always contemporary, which in pandemic times was a brave commitment. Often there was a luminous character who showed virtue and grace when it was badly needed. The topics ranged from the intimate to the universal and were sometimes confronting, but always handled with a light touch and not an unnecessary word. We felt richer for having read them.”