There but for the

There but for the (2011) by Ali Smith. Yes, that is the title. It's a clever play on words, with each word in the title leading off a major section of the book. The book is a charming, off-beat novel in which, to start things off, a dinner guest goes upstairs and locks himself into a bedroom, refusing to come out for many months. But that is only the jumping-off point for a book that is full of word-play, most of it revolving around a young girl named Brook. I am tempted to read this book again, to take a second pass at it and enjoy it all over again. Maybe I will. Grade: A-