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el_viral's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely brilliant. I powered through this book. I would very rarely say that something is 'unputdownable' but this really was. I loved the dreamy prose, the very real world that the characters find themselves in, the interrelationships explored. It is a book where nothing much happens but between those moments everything happens. Beautifully written and poignant, highly recommended, I look forward to reading the rest of the quartet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Death
biobeetle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia and Colonisation
Minor: Body horror
forest240's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Initially i was unsure about this book, but once I got into Elisabeths story i read most of it in one sitting. Really immersive and enjoyable
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
withlivjones's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ali Smith has a wonderful way of writing characters that feel like they’ve just stepped out of a very British film (the kind of film with a male lead who was definitely supposed to be Hugh Grant but they didn’t have the budget to cast him, you know the sort), they’re so unique and their dialogue is so fun to read. I wish I’d read it when it first came out, it transported me right back to 2016 and the aftermath of the Brexit vote, with all of that anger and injustice (little did we know it would only get worse from there).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
greenan26's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Medical content
erebus53's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wow. Ok this book was not something I was expecting and I lost sleep because I didn't want to stop. Oops.
This was published in 2016, in a UK that was harrowed by the conflict of Brexit and the U.S.A. Presidential Election, so the ending of an era is tied poetically into the autumnal season. This book is more poetry than prose, in some cases literally.
Telling the story of a young Art professor, who is likely to be laid off shortly due to budget cuts, we learn of her childhood and a deep loving friendship that she built with her elderly neighbour. As an old man when they met, he is now over 100 years old and in palliative care, so she makes regular trips to his bedside to read him books.
Thematically, this is a really complex interplay. Through a platonic love affair, with a man who idolises the pop-art created by a woman known for being a wild and affronting naked artist, we see the separation of sex and love. Through the graffiti on walls we see conversations unfold, of protest and the demand for change. "GO HOME!" "I'm already here thanks" speaks volumes about conflict and the attitudes of the British people. Through games shared by an old man and a little girl, we learn to play with words, play with images, and play with the words we use to describe images, and the images we use to describe ideas... and interpret and re-interpret the things in front of us. *breeath!*
Yes this could all be quite navel-gazey, but it is emotionally resonant. A fatherless child, a lonely mother, a wish to meet celebrity, a desire to be recognised as an expert, the want to be taken seriously, the low expectations that have been held of women over the years, expectations, presumptions and interpretations, and misunderstandings, and dreams, and unpredictable nature... life protracted, and life cut short.
Oh hang it.. if reading literature makes me speak in big impenetrable words, then reading symbolic poetical stuff that's grounded in everyday humdrum, makes me sound waffley and artistical. This is not an artistical book.. it's a good quick read, and probably worth re-reading. The dry and quick wit makes it utterly hilarious in places, and the people feel real, flawed, and loveable. I am not quite moved to paint, or throw barometers at electric fences.
This was published in 2016, in a UK that was harrowed by the conflict of Brexit and the U.S.A. Presidential Election, so the ending of an era is tied poetically into the autumnal season. This book is more poetry than prose, in some cases literally.
Telling the story of a young Art professor, who is likely to be laid off shortly due to budget cuts, we learn of her childhood and a deep loving friendship that she built with her elderly neighbour. As an old man when they met, he is now over 100 years old and in palliative care, so she makes regular trips to his bedside to read him books.
Thematically, this is a really complex interplay. Through a platonic love affair, with a man who idolises the pop-art created by a woman known for being a wild and affronting naked artist, we see the separation of sex and love. Through the graffiti on walls we see conversations unfold, of protest and the demand for change. "GO HOME!" "I'm already here thanks" speaks volumes about conflict and the attitudes of the British people. Through games shared by an old man and a little girl, we learn to play with words, play with images, and play with the words we use to describe images, and the images we use to describe ideas... and interpret and re-interpret the things in front of us. *breeath!*
Yes this could all be quite navel-gazey, but it is emotionally resonant. A fatherless child, a lonely mother, a wish to meet celebrity, a desire to be recognised as an expert, the want to be taken seriously, the low expectations that have been held of women over the years, expectations, presumptions and interpretations, and misunderstandings, and dreams, and unpredictable nature... life protracted, and life cut short.
Oh hang it.. if reading literature makes me speak in big impenetrable words, then reading symbolic poetical stuff that's grounded in everyday humdrum, makes me sound waffley and artistical. This is not an artistical book.. it's a good quick read, and probably worth re-reading. The dry and quick wit makes it utterly hilarious in places, and the people feel real, flawed, and loveable. I am not quite moved to paint, or throw barometers at electric fences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Sexual content
thesupermassive's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Xenophobia
Minor: Medical content
deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The first book in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet is a stunner, even if it makes you work a little bit for the payoff. Her prose is just so good and this book is beautiful.
For you if: You like the challenge of a novel that doesn’t have a straightforward plot.
FULL REVIEW:
I’m long overdue for my journey with Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet, so when my dear IRL friend and fellow bookstagrammer @caseys_chapters announced a year-long buddy read, I jumped at the chance. We read Autumn in November, and (as expected) I loved it.
The book is about a woman named Elisabeth who has been friends with an old man named Daniel, who lived next door to her mother, since she was a kid. They have a strong bond that was built on candor and curiosity and a love of art. We flash back between past conversations and the present, when Daniel is unconscious in a nursing home and Elisabeth visits regularly. The “present day” takes place amidst the Brexit vote, and the feeling prevalent in England at the time pervades the story.
As you might expect from the title, this book deals with themes of change, endings, and nostalgia. What Ali Smith does so well here (besides just like, everything about her prose) is mix the temperature of the nation in with British cultural references and banality and humor (see: the post office scene). This book evokes so much FEELING, even if sometimes you aren’t even sure why you’re feeling so much. You’ll also fall deeply in love with Elisabeth and Daniel’s relationship, as I did.
I will say that this isn’t a very super straightforward book, and it might not be for everyone. It’s almost poetic, but on a novel level vs a sentence level. I may have even read it too quickly myself to have gotten everything it has to offer, and I expect a reread would be super fulfilling.
Can’t wait to read the rest of the quartet!
TL;DR REVIEW:
The first book in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet is a stunner, even if it makes you work a little bit for the payoff. Her prose is just so good and this book is beautiful.
For you if: You like the challenge of a novel that doesn’t have a straightforward plot.
FULL REVIEW:
I’m long overdue for my journey with Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet, so when my dear IRL friend and fellow bookstagrammer @caseys_chapters announced a year-long buddy read, I jumped at the chance. We read Autumn in November, and (as expected) I loved it.
The book is about a woman named Elisabeth who has been friends with an old man named Daniel, who lived next door to her mother, since she was a kid. They have a strong bond that was built on candor and curiosity and a love of art. We flash back between past conversations and the present, when Daniel is unconscious in a nursing home and Elisabeth visits regularly. The “present day” takes place amidst the Brexit vote, and the feeling prevalent in England at the time pervades the story.
As you might expect from the title, this book deals with themes of change, endings, and nostalgia. What Ali Smith does so well here (besides just like, everything about her prose) is mix the temperature of the nation in with British cultural references and banality and humor (see: the post office scene). This book evokes so much FEELING, even if sometimes you aren’t even sure why you’re feeling so much. You’ll also fall deeply in love with Elisabeth and Daniel’s relationship, as I did.
I will say that this isn’t a very super straightforward book, and it might not be for everyone. It’s almost poetic, but on a novel level vs a sentence level. I may have even read it too quickly myself to have gotten everything it has to offer, and I expect a reread would be super fulfilling.
Can’t wait to read the rest of the quartet!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Xenophobia
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Autumn is a touching meditation on art, political division, and the power of friendship. Though the political atmosphere of this book is certainly key to the story, the Brexit vote is more of a background mood than a primary topic. Rather, the real heart of this novel is the lasting impact of Elisabeth's friendship with sweet, elderly Daniel. As the book progresses, Smith so artfully describes the power of intergenerational friendships for each party. For Daniel, Elisabeth's presence is a balm to his late-in-life loneliness. For Elisabeth, Daniel's perspectives and conversation guide her to a lifelong passion for art. This type of friendship is not often depicted in fiction, and I found it delightful and refreshing to read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Medical content
Moderate: Death