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nreyno's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Islamophobia, Torture, Xenophobia, Trafficking, War, Confinement, Death, Deportation, and Racism
withlivjones's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A really interesting read, definitely not what I expected just from reading the back of the book, but I would honestly recommend going into any Ali Smith book not knowing anything about its contents. I loved the first part of the book, with the non-chronological exploration of the relationship between Richard and Paddy. I also found Brit’s character fascinating to read - she is definitely not a likeable character but she is a very interesting one, and there are many real people like her who simply close themselves off when presented with something that challenges their worldview. Ali Smith is a master of character creation - she makes these very unique and specific characters that shouldn’t meet on a normal day, and then forces them together.
I have two main issues with the book. The first is that I didn’t really understand the character of Florence, although perhaps she’s not meant to be understood. Her powers of invisibility as explained in the book made sense to a point, but past that she seemed overpowered in a way that made everything very convenient for the other characters. The second issue is that the book just doesn’t feel seasonal enough. The “present day” portion of the story happens in October, which isn’t even in Spring! Something I really loved about Winter was that the bleakness of the writing perfectly matched the tone of the season, and the fact that the main story takes place over Christmas helps with that too, and I just didn’t get that same feeling in this book.
I still love Ali Smith’s writing, and she told a very important story in this book, but I’m hoping the rest of the series will improve from this instalment.
I have two main issues with the book. The first is that I didn’t really understand the character of Florence, although perhaps she’s not meant to be understood. Her powers of invisibility as explained in the book made sense to a point, but past that she seemed overpowered in a way that made everything very convenient for the other characters. The second issue is that the book just doesn’t feel seasonal enough. The “present day” portion of the story happens in October, which isn’t even in Spring! Something I really loved about Winter was that the bleakness of the writing perfectly matched the tone of the season, and the fact that the main story takes place over Christmas helps with that too, and I just didn’t get that same feeling in this book.
I still love Ali Smith’s writing, and she told a very important story in this book, but I’m hoping the rest of the series will improve from this instalment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Deportation, and Grief
Moderate: Sexism, Death, and Racism
dorothygrace's review
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Deportation
Minor: Death of parent
carlytenille's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Cancer, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Deportation, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
kglas's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I just finished reading the whole seasonal quartet, and here is my experience with some recommendations.
1) It's definitely best to read the seasonal quartet in the order im which the books were published: autumn - winter - spring - summer. Even though there are new characters at the heart of each novel, it is such a delight to re-encounter some loveable ones in more than one of them. Especially, half of the fun of reading Summer at the end is recognising the characters and stories from previous seasons.
2) I read Autumn twice. I finished it and realised that for understanding more deeply I needed to read it again , and that was fully worth it. I may also re-read some of the quartet at some point and I am sure I'll keep discovering connections and passages that I haven't realised so far.
3) I regularly checked out the references to artists and other writers, looking at their work online. That made the reading experience more complete and made me get to know some exciting works of art I'd had no idea about before reading these books.
To sum up, I adore Ali Smith's masterful writing style, her wordplay, the topics she picks up (female art, migration, the Brexit, climate change, COVID 19, activism, ...) and the loving, caring characters she has created.
A must-read for anyone who loves good and sometimes complex novels.
1) It's definitely best to read the seasonal quartet in the order im which the books were published: autumn - winter - spring - summer. Even though there are new characters at the heart of each novel, it is such a delight to re-encounter some loveable ones in more than one of them. Especially, half of the fun of reading Summer at the end is recognising the characters and stories from previous seasons.
2) I read Autumn twice. I finished it and realised that for understanding more deeply I needed to read it again , and that was fully worth it. I may also re-read some of the quartet at some point and I am sure I'll keep discovering connections and passages that I haven't realised so far.
3) I regularly checked out the references to artists and other writers, looking at their work online. That made the reading experience more complete and made me get to know some exciting works of art I'd had no idea about before reading these books.
To sum up, I adore Ali Smith's masterful writing style, her wordplay, the topics she picks up (female art, migration, the Brexit, climate change, COVID 19, activism, ...) and the loving, caring characters she has created.
A must-read for anyone who loves good and sometimes complex novels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Xenophobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Like it better than Winter and Autumn purely because of the last third of the book. The last 75 pages were amazing! My rating would be higher if the first 250 pages were at the same level.
Smith tries to say so much by saying so little, and in my opinion it doesn’t work for her-it just ends up being a confusing story with nothing happening plot wise. I didn’t like most of the characters. I don’t know what it is about Smith’s characters but I never like them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Terminal illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Sexual content and Rape
Minor: Cancer
donaldleitch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Smith's third seasonal book, Spring, continues with social and political commentary on today's world (Brexit, Trump, etc) wrapped in metaphors related pop culture, history, art and classic literature. This novel challenges popular concepts of borders and refugees and identifies historic colonization within the UK (Gaels) utilizing the clever word play that the reader expects of Smith.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts
julied's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Racism
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