The myth of Iphis is one of the more encouraging of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story goes something like this:

Telethusa is with child, but is told by her husband that if it's a girl it will have to be killed at birth because they cannot afford to keep a daughter. Telethusa is visited by the goddess Isis who tells her all will be well. When she gives birth to Iphis, Telethusa conceals her daughter's sex and raises her as a boy. Iphis falls in love with Ianthe, a girl she has grown up with, and they are betrothed. In desperation Telethusa prays to Isis to help her daughter, and the goddess responds by transforming Iphis into a man. The male Iphis marries Ianthe and the two live happily ever after.

Ali Smith's modern take on the myth is a tale of love and sensuality, self-discovery and bigotry. Set against a back-drop of Inverness, the author's birthplace, there's also a good splash of global inequality and corporate greed. Andrea and Imogen are sisters. When Andrea falls in love with Robin, or Iphisol, "the most beautiful boy" she's ever seen in her life, Imogen sees nothing but trouble. It's bad enough that she disapproves of the union on principle, but Robin is also a serious barrier to her ambitions at the Pure Corporation.

The book is beautifully written, immersing the reader in the narrative from the perspectives of the two sisters as they undergo their respective transformations. The mythologizing extends subtly beyond the personalities of the characters into the nature of society, the thirst of corporations and the inequalities of the modern age.

I loved this book, it's so wonderfully crafted: I felt effortlessly led through the themes and currents, delighting in the many transformations, large and small, it contains. It’s funny, serious, light-hearted and uplifting. If you're put off by the idea of a fantastical myth reworked, please don't be, you'll miss out on a wee gem of a read.