Autumn--Part 1

[Marc]

This thread is for discussing Part 1.

[Mark]

Oh, she had me in her first line: "It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Again." Like the dancer getting dipped, it provokes the reader into a giddy trust fall - and we're off.

This is a second reading for me, and I'm trying to be more careful of Smith's time-jumping, going back as soon as I notice a discontinuity. Still, still, still, distillery...

I like the mother's changup, from homophobe to her daughter to proud mother showing off the fabricated interview to her neighbor. And Daniel doesn't falter a bit, even when Elisabeth accidentally uses her mother's "queen" with him.

[Hugh]

Mark wrote: "Oh, she had me in her first line: "It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Again." Like the dancer getting dipped, it provokes the reader into a giddy trust fall - and we're off.

Thi..."
The first few pages worked brilliantly at the Booker shortlist reading event which I attended - that opening paragraph was really brought to life when you heard her speaking it so rhythmically.

[Kristina]

I like the fact-paced style of her writing. It takes one or two pages to get into it, but as soon as you're caught in the rhytm it is hard to put it down.

Her descriptions of the society in the times of Brexit, the spreading hostility against people with migration background are on point, and the description of bureaucratic struggles simply hilarious.

[Marc]

Agreed, that opening is wondrous. Even if you don't get the Dickens or Yeats references... Smith's writing always seems to work on so many levels.

We open upon a tale of "two cities" but no good times ahead for anyone.

Some things that stood out to me from Part 1:

The breakdown of institutions/social relations
The scene in the post office where Elisabeth is trying to get her passport renewed was rather comical and eye-opening. The process and even the clerk's speech are highly bureaucratic and yet nothing is happening. And almost everyone in the facility except for Elisabeth is there as a substitute shelter of sorts. Actually, reminded me a bit of the way most urban public libraries in America now seem to function as shelter/public space for the homeless during opening hours (certainly, as a reprieve from the heat during the summer or the cold during the winter, as well as a dry spot for rainy times). Ending with her application being rejected for: "HEAD INCORRECT SIZE." (Followed a couple pages later by the type of nudge-nudge-wink-wink-of-a-Smith-line to the reader: "This isn't fiction, the man says. This is the Post Office.") And this was supposed to be the faster process for getting one's passport renewed...

Elisabeth's job as a lecturer is contractual with no fixed hours meaning she makes little and has no job security. It's implied on more than one occasion that her mother has either left her on her own as a child or dumped her upon Daniel to do caretaking for free.

So we have government services, the social safety net, pay/job security, the family/parenting... all seem a bit broken. This is all context/background as it sets up Daniel and Elisabeth as a kind of counterpoint--their age difference allows a kind of honesty and friendship that doesn't have to accept or gloss over the status quo. A sort of authenticity and connection sorely lacking in the rest of the world.

First impressions of these character or other points/scenes that stood out to readers in Part 1?

[Vesna]

I've just finished Part I. My first encounter with Ali Smith and, as I was reading it, I kept wondering what took me so long to read her seasonal novels that were on my TBR list for quite some time.

I loved everything about it and it's difficult to single out just one or two scenes. I love the way she is playful with the language and how she contextualized the friendship between Elisabeth and Daniel, which is in itself very moving in its purity. Although the Brexit context is clear, it resonates universally for our times. Her powerful "All across the country" section can easily (and sadly) be applied to many other places in the world today (just insert "fill in the blank" for some specific references).

In my mind, there was a strong contrast between the populist and nationalist social climate, and the human trust and the beauty of imaginative mind in the conversations between Elisabeth and Daniel. It's subtle but effective. I spent some time identifying the paintings/collages by Pauline Boty from Elisabeth's descriptions to her mother. (I was also glad to find and see Boubat's photo of a girl covered with leaves in the postwar Paris that Daniel Gluck remembers at the beginning.) She was apparently a part of fictional Daniel's life and I'm thankful that Smith revived her from relative obscurity. Not sure if that was the intention, but the audacity to be unconventional like her pop art in the 1960s is a sharp counterpoint to the Brexit-like mentality (and similar trends elsewhere in the world).

Eagerly moving onto Part II...

[Emmeline]

I ultimately liked the book, but not Part I particularly. This was my second Ali Smith and her style sits uncomfortably with me... I really find "quirk" hard to deal with, but at the same time I recognize that Ali Smith is doing it better than almost anyone else.

I enjoyed the Odysseus-like scene of Daniel finding himself naked on a beach, but not the scene at the post office. It was very true to life, but maybe too much so? I feel like it's easy to satirize passport applications.

The relationship between Daniel and Elisabeth was ultimately worth any niggles though.

[Mark]

My biggest niggle with my first Smith book was her rejection of quote marks. I'm used to it now, though.

[Shalini]

I just finished the book and one thing for sure is that I like Ali Smith. I is my first book by the author and I have Winter waiting. The characters speaking in their own heads is interesting though at times I wished they spoke to each other more. Going back and forth with Daniel kept me hooked.