‘Autumn’ is the first of four books in a planned series of novels by Ali Smith named after the seasons and which focus on how we experience time. Set during the fallout of the Brexit referendum result in 2016, it follows the friendship between Elisabeth Demand, a thirty-two-year-old history of art lecturer and her eccentric 101-year-old former next-door neighbour Daniel Gluck who is spending his dying days in an assisted care facility.
‘Autumn’ is probably the first novel to be published by a major author which directly tackles the aftermath of Brexit – the first of many to come over the next few years, I suspect – and it is a brilliant place to start if you want to try and make sense of some of the extraordinary things that have happened in recent months through the power of fiction. The contemporary references include the murder of MP Jo Cox a week before the referendum was held while there is also some brilliant satire in the post office scenes when Elisabeth is fighting through layers of bureaucracy in her attempts to renew her passport. Smith perfectly captures the sense of anger among Remain voters, addictive consumption of social media and the general post-truth atmosphere in a divided society reacting to a constant cycle of breaking news stories: “It has become a time of people saying stuff to each other and none of it actually ever becoming dialogue.”
Although the themes surrounding the consequences of Brexit are likely to generate the most attention, the book isn’t dominated by these events and is bursting with other ideas from the weighty (the significance of time and memory, the refugee crisis) to the trivial (the number of antiques programmes on TV). As well as current events, there are several episodes from Elisabeth’s childhood (who was born in 1984, of course) and how through Daniel’s art collection she becomes increasingly fascinated by the life and work of little-known British Pop artist Pauline Boty who tragically died at the age of 28 in 1966. As with ‘The Accidental’ and her Baileys Prize-winning novel How to be both, Smith’s signature fragmented prose style is dominated by inventive wordplay based on rhymes and puns and varied experimentation with language, form and structure. Consequently, it seems unlikely that ‘Autumn’ will convert those who didn’t get on with Smith’s previous books but it will certainly please her existing fans.
Smith has written a highly contemporary novel which I believe will remain relevant far beyond this year. The next three books are said to be stand-alone but interconnected novels and I can’t wait to see what Smith has to offer in ‘Winter’, ‘Spring’ and ‘Summer’.
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Hmm, I’m still unconverted, but maybe I will try again.
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I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from giving her books another go but the style is quite similar to her previous work. I think it depends on how much your tastes have changed (if at all).
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I have read There But For The and have Public Library and Other Stories on its way to me, but this sounds like a brilliant read, I’m glad that this popped up in my inbox that’s for sure 🙂
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I haven’t read any of her short stories yet but must try them at some point. Autumn seems to be really popular so I hope you enjoy it too!
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I also remain unconvinced, but since you hardly ever recommend a totally dud book it will go on my “TBR if given as a Christmas present” pile!
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Thanks! I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from giving it a go but I can see how her experimentation is an acquired taste.
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The only Ali Smith I’ve read so far is How To Be Both, which I absolutely loved so am greatly looking forward to this one. The themes sound fascinating so can’t wait to get reading!
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Yes I need to read more of her back catalogue too – hope you like this one!
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This sounds interesting. I don’t think I’ll quite understand the brexit portions what with being from a different country and all but I’m glad that isn’t the only theme in it.
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Sorry for the late reply! Yes, it’s well worth checking out 🙂
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Gosh, that’s a very quick turnaround – too soon, I wonder? I’m not sure I’ve read anything by her, so might give this a go as sounds interesting.
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Yes, I’m not sure at what stage it was submitted for editing but I think Smith intended it to be very up-to-the-minute. I wouldn’t say it’s too soon – it captures the atmosphere and immediate dismay that many people felt by the referendum result very well.
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I like her style so I’m looking forward to this one.
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Hope you enjoy it – I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews for Autumn by her long-time fans which is encouraging.
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I have not yet read Ali Smith. I thought that I would begin with There But For Me, but I think I will start with Autumn instead.
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I want to read more of her back catalogue so I will look out for that one too!
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So excited about this! I didn’t know about this, and it will be next on my read list. Thank you.
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Hope you enjoy it – I need to read more of her back catalogue!
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