2017 Booker Prize longlist: Autumn by Ali Smith

This topic is for discussion of Autumn by Ali Smith. No spoilers, please.

This is the story of the friendship between Elisabeth and her old neighbour, Mr Daniel Gluck. A friendship that sustains over the years. But the book is much more than that: it is about this post-Brexit world, it is about art and storytelling.

Smitt writes mesmerizing about her characters: I am fascinated by and liking Elisabeth, her mother, her mothers friend Zoe and Daniel a lot. I was happy to learn about Pauline Boty, a pop art artist of the sixties of whom I had never heard. I loved the dialogues between Elisabeth and Mr Gluck, between Elisabeth and her mother and between Elisabeth and the man behind the counter at the post office.

Autumn is the first of a planned quartet, I am looking forward to the next ones.

As I have only read one other book of the longlist I dare not predict whether Autumn will make the shortlist. I'll get back to that later.

This is my "review" from my 2016 thread in the 75 books group:

I can’t review Ali Smith anymore, just like I can’t review Virgina Woolf, and that’s a good thing! It means that plot and construction have now receded behind the more (introduce the smart word here that I can’t find – I tried visceral and ethereal and according to my dictionary they don’t exactly mean what I want to say. A mix of both?).

So. This is Britain post-Brexit referendum, and AS has really, really greatly worked this in. There are simple scenes that show the alienation in interpersonal contacts/ dialogues, but there are also scenes like paintings. AS is finally able to paint with words, and you don’t see the canvas anymore. I’m SO happy!

Elements (some of them): autumn, friendship, independence, backward thinking, political lies now and then (Profumo affair), feminism, love, imagination, pop-art, the small daily abstrusenesses, civil disobedience, hope.

I rated earlier AS books with 4.5, and this one is my new favorite, so yay for 5 stars and I can't wait for the other 3 paintings in this new series!

Autumn is such a gorgeous, quiet book. The writing is so understated and brilliant. Smith is one of my favorite authors and I'm so very eager to read the next three books.

I wonder if the fact that it's the first of a planned quartet will hinder its chances of winning, or even making the shortlist, but I wouldn't be at all unhappy were this book to take the prize.

Question - is this the sort of book that would benefit from being read in print rather than on a kindle? I know Ali Smith's novels are often experimental in form and some books like that don't work as well on kindle (for instance, I chose to read Lincoln in the Bardo in print from the library and I'm glad because I thought the page spacing was important to the book). Let me know if you think it would matter.

Thanks!

>6 japaul22: I read Autumn on Kindle. I'm not aware of anything about the form that would make a difference.

>7 lauralkeet: thanks!

I read Autumn earlier this year. I so wanted to love this book. I still think it's a worthy nominee, despite giving it only 3 stars.
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Ali Smith’s work is always experimental and interesting, and Autumn is no exception. That said, I didn’t connect with this book as strongly as I hoped to. Autumn is set in England in 2016 just after the Brexit vote. The country is torn in two, and Smith processes this dynamic through Elisabeth, a young woman in her 30s. Elisabeth’s childhood was strongly influenced by her neighbor, Daniel, who introduced her to art, music, and different ways of interpreting the world. Elisabeth returns home after a long absence to visit Daniel, who was recently admitted to a care home at the age of 101. Elisabeth reads aloud to Daniel and although he is usually asleep, she finds comfort and even healing in his presence.

Elisabeth’s relationship with Daniel was one of a few plot threads in Autumn, and the one I found most meaningful and moving. Another thread about an artist friend of Daniel’s, who later became the subject of Elisabeth’s academic research, was interesting but felt somewhat disjointed. Elisabeth’s relationship with her mother and interactions with British bureaucracy were amusing.

I wanted to love this book and can see why others did. I appreciate what Smith has done here. I was left feeling like this book was well-written and poetic, with more to say than I was able to receive.

Laura I completely agree with you. I feel like I am still digesting it. I enjoyed reading it but feel I need a class explaining some bits to me.

I just reread it this weekend to see if it is still my favorite, and it is. It's definitely a book I don't read exclusively with my usual (logical) fiction brain that wants fully understand a story. It's more like a written collage (all the art parts are about collages), and there are parts of my brain, too often dormant while reading, that "experience" this book in a different way, almost like touching the different structures of collage materials, some soft, some rough. I've been looking for the right expression to describe the sensation for ages and can't find it.

So there is outer plot content which is maybe thin compared to other novels, but it's overall like a multi-level experience. You have mostly logical bits like the annoying passport story, and then there are the purely meditative ones like Daniel's "dreams" and when it's about the art it's all different again.

I had similar reading experiences with the more experimental Virginia Woolf books, mainly The Waves, but with fewer levels, it was more continuously meditative, and once I fell out of the right mood for it I had to take a break. There are also movies that do that to my brain, but I have to be able to let go of the idea that I somehow can connect the dots for a logical and conclusive plot. That's not possible on all days/ in all situations.

The result - for me, I don't know about others - is much more lifelike than a straight narration. Because when we go through the day, we work logically on our computers, we experience the warmth of a cup of tea we're holding in our hands, we contemplate a tree or something else and a second later the phone rings and we're "awake" again.

Thanks for some great thoughts about this book. I agree. Of those I’ve read so far, (Lincoln in the Bardo, Exit West, and I’ve just begun Elmet) Autumn seems to be the one that continues to stand out for me. I’m impressed by those previously mentioned and I’m still sad about the loss of The Underground Railroad from the shortlist, but I wouldn’t be at all unhappy to see Autumn take the prize.