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renaciendome's review against another edition
4.0
I love the way Zadie Smith writes and how he shows the life of a simple man doing simple things detailing stuff of normal life making it interesting
tarrowood's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed by this novel. There’s a lot of promise in certain thematics, but a lot of the book feels unnecessary. And the parts that are necessary and strong feel like they aren’t fully reaching their potential. Zadie Smith is phenomenal, I stand by that, but The Autograph Man was my least favorite of hers by far
zosia_rose's review against another edition
emotional
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
DNF
I made it farther than I normally would have read strictly because I really wanted to honor Zadie Smith’s writing, but goLLY was this boring.
Maybe slice-of-life fiction just isn’t my genre, because I guarantee I would read any fantasy piece Smith were to write. Her storytelling and verbiage is beautiful and she writes characters very well, honoring their distinct personalities. Unfortunately, this life was not meant to be sliced...although interesting to a point there’s only so much mundanity I can take (no matter how prettily written) before it becomes TV static.
I’m trying my best to be respectful of culture here, but Judaism was the main theme woven into every section of the story and even the unique structure of the book and the passionate characters couldn’t keep me invested enough in the multiple arguments and nuanced philosophies about this topic to finish reading.
¡TAKE MY RATING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT!
I often push myself to finish books even if they’re not my favorite out of respect for the time put in by everyone involved in writing/publishing something. Recently I have changed my perspective: take what I can and leave the enjoyment to those it was meant for. Those are the reviews you should trust. The above is simply my personal record so I can better filter my TBR and find books I’ll like upon opening them.
I made it farther than I normally would have read strictly because I really wanted to honor Zadie Smith’s writing, but goLLY was this boring.
Maybe slice-of-life fiction just isn’t my genre, because I guarantee I would read any fantasy piece Smith were to write. Her storytelling and verbiage is beautiful and she writes characters very well, honoring their distinct personalities. Unfortunately, this life was not meant to be sliced...although interesting to a point there’s only so much mundanity I can take (no matter how prettily written) before it becomes TV static.
I’m trying my best to be respectful of culture here, but Judaism was the main theme woven into every section of the story and even the unique structure of the book and the passionate characters couldn’t keep me invested enough in the multiple arguments and nuanced philosophies about this topic to finish reading.
¡TAKE MY RATING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT!
I often push myself to finish books even if they’re not my favorite out of respect for the time put in by everyone involved in writing/publishing something. Recently I have changed my perspective: take what I can and leave the enjoyment to those it was meant for. Those are the reviews you should trust. The above is simply my personal record so I can better filter my TBR and find books I’ll like upon opening them.
anawilson05's review against another edition
Tangential story that meandered everywhere. Really slow and difficult to follow the themes and plots.
subvino's review against another edition
2.0
I love the 2 other books by Zadie Smith that I've read but this fell really, really flat for me. The protagonist Alex didn't have any redeeming qualities and frankly annoyed the hell out of me. I don't mind hating the main character as long as the rest of the characters or the plot is interesting (or the protagonist is hateable while still sympathetic in some way), but this book did nothing for me. Occasionally she (Zadie Smith) would describe something in a very well-written way and I'd think maybe things were turning a page (har har) in the book, but no. The beginning, which was narrated by Alex's father, was scores better than the 300 pages that follow it.
elyse33's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
'So,' said Adam, as they started down the high street,'what was the occassion anyway?'
'Fear, and...' said Alex, and then thought for a while.
'Loathing?' offered Joseph.
'Yes. Definitely that. Definitely loathing, yeah.'
about religion and spirituality and personal gods (made or otherwise) and fame and community. zadie smith's writing style is so engaging to me - her novels have all the wit of someone like e.m. forster but with such a complex understanding of life in 20th/21st century london (i've only read white teeth + this one which were both in london - not sure about her other works yet :)).
'It's the opposite of resentment,' said Joseph, in a low, breaking voice. 'It's wonder. You don't see it. You have the power with things. I document acts of God. I give out insurance when things mess up. But you're in the world, with things. You sell them, you exchange them, you deal with them, you identify them, name them, categorise them,' - Alex freed his hand and slapped the dashboard in protest, amazed, like most people, by another man's laudatory description of the accident we call our lives - 'you write a bloody book about them. I'm sort of horrified by it, actually - you're so determined to shape what to me is fundamentally without any shape - and the joke is, you don't even realise it.'
because the story was very tangential and meandering it did sometimes feel a little slow or hard follow certain themes/threads of the story. and if it was any writer other than smith it could have very easily become tedious but to be honest i think i would be entertained by her shopping list so... i found - with this book especially - her novels are more like discursive essays told through the characters.
(...) this was an analogy that had not satisfied Adam, who thought the call to the rabbinate should be entirely pure, a discussion a man has with God. But God had never spoken to Rubinfine, really. Rubinfine was simply, and honestly, a fan of the people he had come from. He loved and admired them. The books they wrote, the films they made, the songs they had sung, the things they had discovered, they jokes they told. This was the only way he had ever found to show it, that affection.
very fun to read such a loser of a protagonist also... alex is so incredibly self-absorbed and self-pitying; reading his inner dialogue was verrrrry fun <3 also the group of childhood friends assembled were all pretty interesting in their own right + the dynamics were very fun; especially having read the prologue with them as children. and honey! and esther! zadie smith is so great at making her characters feel like real people- giving them all these little tics and quirks even if they're only in one or two scenes. definitely want to keep making my way through smith's body of work - even though i didn't love this one as much as white teeth i just find her writing so refreshingly funny + thought-provoking.
He threw her the keys. He told her something he hadn't told her in a while.
'I know. It's going to kill me,' she replied.
They came, they came. Somewhere, beneath the drink, he understood what it meant, them coming. That they would always come. This was godly.
'Fear, and...' said Alex, and then thought for a while.
'Loathing?' offered Joseph.
'Yes. Definitely that. Definitely loathing, yeah.'
about religion and spirituality and personal gods (made or otherwise) and fame and community. zadie smith's writing style is so engaging to me - her novels have all the wit of someone like e.m. forster but with such a complex understanding of life in 20th/21st century london (i've only read white teeth + this one which were both in london - not sure about her other works yet :)).
'It's the opposite of resentment,' said Joseph, in a low, breaking voice. 'It's wonder. You don't see it. You have the power with things. I document acts of God. I give out insurance when things mess up. But you're in the world, with things. You sell them, you exchange them, you deal with them, you identify them, name them, categorise them,' - Alex freed his hand and slapped the dashboard in protest, amazed, like most people, by another man's laudatory description of the accident we call our lives - 'you write a bloody book about them. I'm sort of horrified by it, actually - you're so determined to shape what to me is fundamentally without any shape - and the joke is, you don't even realise it.'
because the story was very tangential and meandering it did sometimes feel a little slow or hard follow certain themes/threads of the story. and if it was any writer other than smith it could have very easily become tedious but to be honest i think i would be entertained by her shopping list so... i found - with this book especially - her novels are more like discursive essays told through the characters.
(...) this was an analogy that had not satisfied Adam, who thought the call to the rabbinate should be entirely pure, a discussion a man has with God. But God had never spoken to Rubinfine, really. Rubinfine was simply, and honestly, a fan of the people he had come from. He loved and admired them. The books they wrote, the films they made, the songs they had sung, the things they had discovered, they jokes they told. This was the only way he had ever found to show it, that affection.
very fun to read such a loser of a protagonist also... alex is so incredibly self-absorbed and self-pitying; reading his inner dialogue was verrrrry fun <3 also the group of childhood friends assembled were all pretty interesting in their own right + the dynamics were very fun; especially having read the prologue with them as children. and honey! and esther! zadie smith is so great at making her characters feel like real people- giving them all these little tics and quirks even if they're only in one or two scenes. definitely want to keep making my way through smith's body of work - even though i didn't love this one as much as white teeth i just find her writing so refreshingly funny + thought-provoking.
He threw her the keys. He told her something he hadn't told her in a while.
'I know. It's going to kill me,' she replied.
They came, they came. Somewhere, beneath the drink, he understood what it meant, them coming. That they would always come. This was godly.
katie_lister's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
kaceyymair's review against another edition
Bored. Nowhere near as strong as White Teeth.