Another amazing Ali Smith novel! Just finished and can't stop thinking about it.

I had, shamefully, not read a novel by Ali Smith before, despite having a copy of 'The Accidental' in a cupboard somewhere and having been intrigued by her work since the publication of 'Hotel World.' I was both surprised and and sometimes delighted by the book. It concerns the life of an art historian, an academic clinging on to her London job with no real prospects for the future who has been forced to return to live with her mother. In doing so she comes to reflect on their former neighbour, a Jewish emigre, much older than Elisabeth and a man who became her friend and guide through her childhood. Elisabeth's memories force her to go off in search of him and soon finds him, age 101 and close to death in a care home. And while this is all going on Britain becomes divided amongst itself since the vote on Brexit takes place leaving the country stunned. Smith weaves the issues into this rather joyous and sunny tale (even though it deals with death and the Holocaust), calling on the resources of Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' as a symbol of all that has changed since it draws on 'The Tempest' and ideas of isolation and islands, as well as themes of autocracy. But alongside the veiled references and metaphors scattered across the book is a light, gentle book about love and also, rather awkwardly, about art. Smith has a thing for art in her novels and in this one she excavates the life and career of the only female British pop artist Pauline Boty. Interesting as this is is does not easily mesh with the rest of the tale but despite this it is an interesting diversion on its own. I would recommend the book on the basis that Smith has written not only an enjoyable tale but ultimately a novel of ideas, which few British novelists manage these days, especially those most often praised in the reviews.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, Autumn is set against the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, with a fractured society turning upon itself. Daniel Gluck is close to death, living in a world of his own imagination, happily exploring a surreal landscape, remembering what it was to be a young man and inspired by the work of an artist he once knew. A young woman, Elisabeth Demand, who was Daniel’s neighbour when she was a child, visits him in his nursing home as he lives in this in-between world, bringing back memories of the past that they shared. Elisabeth is witnessing the dark turn the real world has taken as neighbour turns against neighbour while Daniel escapes this but they are tied together by their friendship. Autumn is a hugely imaginative and fluid work – moving from dream to reality, from present to past with great lyricism.

I found this very good once I got into it.It is very relative to today,s world and I foundi I could relate to certain aspects of the story.I have now bought the follow up edition 'Winter'whic I am looks ng forward to reading.

Quite enjoyable and fairly easy to read. Undeserving of all the hype it has attracted in the media, though, and justifiably denied the MB prize.