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A review by nothingforpomegranted
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was a meticulously well-researched book, and I just felt so uncomfortable the entire time that I couldn’t bring myself to like it, though I did feel like I was compelled to keep reading.
The prologue was the best part of this book, in my opinion. We started with Li-Jon Tandem, the Chinese father of a half-Jewish son, who is determined to help his son find a sense of identity and heritage. He accompanies Alex and a few friends to a wrestling match, where they encounter a small thirteen year old boy who is bullied by his father and a secret autograph collector. Then, we get a stream of consciousness breakdown as we discover that Li-Jin is diagnosed with cancer and quickly succumbs to the disease (though the precise timeline is a bit unclear throughout the novel, with a reveal towards the end that suggests that Li-Jin actually died that very day) before the rest of the novel shifts to focus on Alex as an adult.
Recovering from the trauma of his father’s death, Alex is in denial about his grief and presents an extremely unlikeable and unreliable main character. He cheats on his girlfriend, who just so happens to be his best friend’s sister, and he shows no remorse. He collects autographs and sells them, talking about how much he hates other Autograph Man while behaving exactly like them out at bars and avoiding his friends. He has an obsession with actress Kitty Alexander and has written her a letter a week since he was fifteen despite never receiving a response, and it is this obsession that kicks off the novel, which takes place over the course of about a week and a half. Too drunk and too high with his friends, Alex discovers a Kitty Alexander autograph, which fuels his obsession. He is convinced that it’s real, though his friends argue that he forged it himself under the influence, and the whole situation is made more dramatic by the fact that Alex crashed his car during this event, requiring Esther to need stitches on top of her scheduled pacemaker replacement surgery (which he’ll be missing to attend an autograph conference in New York).
Alex irritated me, and the descriptions of his excessive drinking were gruesome. On top of that, the approach to Judaism made me pretty uncomfortable, and I had trouble stomaching those sections of the novel. I was especially thrown off by the use of the tetragrammaton as a section header in the first few chapters of the novel. Smith clearly researched this book heavily and demonstrated an admirable interest in cultures that, as far as I know, are not her own, and this highlights a certain level of respect. However, the approach to Alex and his understanding of Judaism was almost repulsive—reminiscent of Philip Roth—which was strange reading from the pen of a non-Jew, and I just didn’t feel great reading these descriptions.
Also, it’s just important to note that this book would have to be disposed of in a geniza because of the publication of God’s name. Very strange to have that choice accepted by so many editors and publishers when it has real religious implications.
The prologue was the best part of this book, in my opinion. We started with Li-Jon Tandem, the Chinese father of a half-Jewish son, who is determined to help his son find a sense of identity and heritage. He accompanies Alex and a few friends to a wrestling match, where they encounter a small thirteen year old boy who is bullied by his father and a secret autograph collector. Then, we get a stream of consciousness breakdown as we discover that Li-Jin is diagnosed with cancer and quickly succumbs to the disease (though the precise timeline is a bit unclear throughout the novel, with a reveal towards the end that suggests that Li-Jin actually died that very day) before the rest of the novel shifts to focus on Alex as an adult.
Recovering from the trauma of his father’s death, Alex is in denial about his grief and presents an extremely unlikeable and unreliable main character. He cheats on his girlfriend, who just so happens to be his best friend’s sister, and he shows no remorse. He collects autographs and sells them, talking about how much he hates other Autograph Man while behaving exactly like them out at bars and avoiding his friends. He has an obsession with actress Kitty Alexander and has written her a letter a week since he was fifteen despite never receiving a response, and it is this obsession that kicks off the novel, which takes place over the course of about a week and a half. Too drunk and too high with his friends, Alex discovers a Kitty Alexander autograph, which fuels his obsession. He is convinced that it’s real, though his friends argue that he forged it himself under the influence, and the whole situation is made more dramatic by the fact that Alex crashed his car during this event, requiring Esther to need stitches on top of her scheduled pacemaker replacement surgery (which he’ll be missing to attend an autograph conference in New York).
Alex irritated me, and the descriptions of his excessive drinking were gruesome. On top of that, the approach to Judaism made me pretty uncomfortable, and I had trouble stomaching those sections of the novel. I was especially thrown off by the use of the tetragrammaton as a section header in the first few chapters of the novel. Smith clearly researched this book heavily and demonstrated an admirable interest in cultures that, as far as I know, are not her own, and this highlights a certain level of respect. However, the approach to Alex and his understanding of Judaism was almost repulsive—reminiscent of Philip Roth—which was strange reading from the pen of a non-Jew, and I just didn’t feel great reading these descriptions.
Also, it’s just important to note that this book would have to be disposed of in a geniza because of the publication of God’s name. Very strange to have that choice accepted by so many editors and publishers when it has real religious implications.