You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think it's hard to approach "why did I like this book so much". So if I start at the obvious "why would I *dis*like it, even if I didn't, overall" instead. The two viewpoint characters are both disagreeable politically - at least in my opinion and clearly the author's too. I think this is a difficult needle to thread for an author: how to create characters that you disagree with without them being obviously wrong. And I think as in Autumn the places where it breaks down are those where Smith directly addresses Brexit. Which is understandable, because even 5 and a half years from the vote, living with the consequences, having been involved in the "conversation", I still struggle to find the motivations comprehensible because from my personal perspective even those articulated by people are evil, facile and/or just objectively obviously wrong. Luckily these are only little bits.
So then there's also the obvious thing that Sophia and Art aren't super pleasant people. Sophia is given a lot of background that makes her sympathetic but Art... he barely gets a backstory that explains how he is how he is. He just behaves in ways that are inconsiderate and callous with no introspection and - spoiler, I guess - by the end of the book it's not clear that he's changed much. Like part of me was reading in the hope he'd finally realise and then the PoV focuses on him It's sad and pathetic. The extent to which it's clear he instrumentalises a vulnerable woman and treats her intelligence and insight mainly as something For Him is painful.
But... he's not evil. Most of what he does is just... banal. He has a relatively easy job doing something that's a net negative to the world but on the scale of things it's only a small thing and no worse than the average job. He's trying to write a blog on nature that he thinks is really important while ignoring politics and keeps slipping on updating it, makes up "personal" stories that didn't happen, is engaging with a small audience. We all make a decision about how much we engage with politics even when we know it's really important. We all have hobbies. Being a bad writer isn't a bad thing. It's good to express yourself. He fails to engage with the emotions of his politically aware ex-girlfriend but that's not that surprising, for a man. Lots of men like to pretend their reactions to things are "rational" in a way that denies the feelings of women. I mean, bad? Yeah. Not unusual though.
So then... you come to how he treats Lux. Lux appears in the story mostly for what she does for Sophia and Art. She says enough about herself that we get some insight into how she feels and what she cares about. She mentions casually a history. She's insightful and caring. And yet we never get a chance to see from her point of view. It's hard to avoid thinking about manic pixie dream girl type stuff, at least when you get shown stuff from Art's perspective. And there's a sense too a little bit here of betrayal by the author - she's casually used as part of Being Relevant To Brexit when .
Although ok - isn't that kind of, also a point, like an important one? In that she basically becomes a sort of, temporary carer for Sophia which is a reflection of actual labour issues in the UK. And of course we're only seeing it through the eyes of two quite selfish and inconsiderate people who instrumentalise her so of course we don't get the perspective even the author one. And of course they only see her for what she can give them but without even bothering to try and address the material issues that mean she can't give them more and then moping about it... honestly like I complain a little bit and then I realise it's all weaved in more expertly than I'd thought at first.
And I think the thing is... the way Lux gets treated is uncomfortably familiar. It's very, very easy to slip into thinking that things suck for you but if only this one person would fix it for you. Then you'd be ok. Looking for solutions outside yourself to problems that are your own. Thinking of other people only as ways to make you better, the main character. Art does come across as a dick, but a mundane one. The sort of person it's easy to slide into being. And of course, by the end like his unreal nature blog. For now we see through a glass, darkly.
Sophia is in a way an easier character. Her contempt for is given some complex background that makes her basically sympathetic. We also avoid any in depth look into her business life, we just see her afterwards, which means you don't need to think of any of her shadier actions there. Instead, she's mostly characterised negatively by inaction.
So then there's also the obvious thing that Sophia and Art aren't super pleasant people. Sophia is given a lot of background that makes her sympathetic but Art... he barely gets a backstory that explains how he is how he is. He just behaves in ways that are inconsiderate and callous with no introspection and - spoiler, I guess - by the end of the book it's not clear that he's changed much. Like part of me was reading in the hope he'd finally realise and then the PoV focuses on him
Spoiler
getting an erection because a younger (lesbian!) woman is sleeping near him for cash.But... he's not evil. Most of what he does is just... banal. He has a relatively easy job doing something that's a net negative to the world but on the scale of things it's only a small thing and no worse than the average job. He's trying to write a blog on nature that he thinks is really important while ignoring politics and keeps slipping on updating it, makes up "personal" stories that didn't happen, is engaging with a small audience. We all make a decision about how much we engage with politics even when we know it's really important. We all have hobbies. Being a bad writer isn't a bad thing. It's good to express yourself. He fails to engage with the emotions of his politically aware ex-girlfriend but that's not that surprising, for a man. Lots of men like to pretend their reactions to things are "rational" in a way that denies the feelings of women. I mean, bad? Yeah. Not unusual though.
So then... you come to how he treats Lux. Lux appears in the story mostly for what she does for Sophia and Art. She says enough about herself that we get some insight into how she feels and what she cares about. She mentions casually a history
Spoiler
as a child of refugees from the Yugoslav wars, who left them because she couldn't deal with the weight of traumaSpoiler
she points out that due to Brexit she's not even sure how long she'll be allowed to stay in with a Croatian passportAlthough ok - isn't that kind of, also a point, like an important one? In that she basically becomes a sort of, temporary carer for Sophia which is a reflection of actual labour issues in the UK. And of course we're only seeing it through the eyes of two quite selfish and inconsiderate people who instrumentalise her so of course we don't get the perspective even the author one. And of course they only see her for what she can give them but without even bothering to try and address the material issues that mean she can't give them more and then moping about it... honestly like I complain a little bit and then I realise it's all weaved in more expertly than I'd thought at first.
And I think the thing is... the way Lux gets treated is uncomfortably familiar. It's very, very easy to slip into thinking that things suck for you but if only this one person would fix it for you. Then you'd be ok. Looking for solutions outside yourself to problems that are your own. Thinking of other people only as ways to make you better, the main character. Art does come across as a dick, but a mundane one. The sort of person it's easy to slide into being. And of course, by the end
Spoiler
he's only a little bit changed - he's willing to try a little harder in some ways and thinking about changing his job but he's still reliant on the work of his ex-gf for self realisation. He's looking for Lux but only when it's too late, and seemingly without having a thought about what her life is like. Even his quest for a particular Shakespeare folio is him unable to look for beauty that comes from his own understandingSophia is in a way an easier character. Her contempt for
Spoiler
her sister's politics and activism
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Started off strong but the story evolved into something not entirely for me, so I'm passing it on to my mum, i think she'll like it more:) beautifully written though
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ali Smith achieves what so many modern authors set out to achieve. She balances postmodern abstraction, humour, politics, literature and humanity all at once. It is such a feat and gift to read.
I personally feel like Winter was even better than Autumn, as it built on top of what she already set out to do in Autumn. I'm keenly excited for Spring in 2 weeks time.
This book, like Autumn, hit me at just the right time. I had been holding out to read both of them until I felt the time was right. And now - living in the UK away from my hometown in Australia, having recently been to London for the first time, in the midst of Brexit drama all over the news - Smith's work struck me particularly.
She manages to dangle multiplicity and clarity all at once.
I woke up every day for a few days in a row to read this book for a few hours. Like its own means of understanding the world around me. A narrative to make sense and give some kind of form and story to my current life here.
A beautiful work.
I personally feel like Winter was even better than Autumn, as it built on top of what she already set out to do in Autumn. I'm keenly excited for Spring in 2 weeks time.
This book, like Autumn, hit me at just the right time. I had been holding out to read both of them until I felt the time was right. And now - living in the UK away from my hometown in Australia, having recently been to London for the first time, in the midst of Brexit drama all over the news - Smith's work struck me particularly.
She manages to dangle multiplicity and clarity all at once.
I woke up every day for a few days in a row to read this book for a few hours. Like its own means of understanding the world around me. A narrative to make sense and give some kind of form and story to my current life here.
A beautiful work.
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Ali Smith.
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.
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.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
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:
Yes