Autumn by Scottish writer Ali Smith is the first installment of her seasonal quartet. This is one of the loveliest books I read in 2020 and maybe even EVER! I could kick myself for not reading this sooner.
The story begins with a play on words of the opening lines of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. This is a beautiful story of a friendship between a young girl Elisabeth and her neighbour Daniel Gluck. When we first meet them Daniel is over 100 years old and Elisabeth is an adult visiting him. However when Elisabeth was younger, her mother didn't seem to understand her, but she had a connection with Daniel. During Elisabeth's time with Daniel she discovers the importance of imagination, acquires a love of words, language, books, art, music, and politics. The first thing Daniel says to her every time he sees her is, “What are you reading”.
The writing is exquisite. There is poetic, comforting prose. There’s no dialogue quotations, but that didn’t seem to bother me. It worked in this instance.
I adored everything about this book. It has a perfect Autumn feel for and I can’t wait to start reading the next in the quartet which is Winter.
Bookworm Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛
I couldn't agree with you more! An amazing read. One of my favourite novels of all time. The writing is incredibly original.