There but for the is the sparkling satirical novel by bestselling Ali Smith. 'Th
ere once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a din
ner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house
of the people who were giving the dinner party...' As time passes by and the con
sequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the g
uests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beauti
ful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they at first appear.
