deedireads's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia
savvylit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death
feebles640's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Pregnancy and Terminal illness
rosalind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
amelreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia
bookedbymadeline's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, War, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism, Cancer, and Suicide
nochnitsa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Death
nomey's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Xenophobia
thecolourblue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content and Homophobia