This book is comprised of two parts, each divided into ten chapters which do not entirely cohere until the reader begins drawing conclusions and connecting dots.

More than once, characters muse on "ten holy spheres" of Kabbalistic significance, each a facet of the universal divine spirit which does not entirely cohere until humans do some independent work to put the parts together.

Meta!

It's intriguing but it's pushy, and things don't really take off til Part 2. For anyone but Zadie Smith I'd throw around words like "clumsy" or "ham-handed" but that's not the case here—she is ever deft with her words, penning some sections of near-angelic prose that left me reeling. Still, nobody likes being being bludgeoned over the head with the "Do You Get It Yet??" stick and there's a lot of bludgeoning here.

4 stars. At least it's bludgeoning by something soft and cushiony.

Bitti. Yıllar önce izlediğim bir film, içinde geçen bir cümlesiyle aklıma düştü: ‘Bir kitabı ondan bir şey okuyana kadar asla kapatmamalısın.’
Ben de öyle yaptım ama ‘ne okuduğum?’ konusunda bir SS tandemi yapmamız lazım:) Bakalım hayat bize neler gösterecek:)
....
6 Ocak 2020,
Alex Li Tandem'in yani imza toplayan adamın öyküsü bir güreş karşılaşması ile başlar. Bu bir nevi okur için de okuyacaklarının zorlu bir güreş olacağının habercisidir. Güreş izlemeyi seven benim için bile de kitap aynen öyle oldu. Kitap boyunca Alex'in en çok sevdiği gürültüyü- birinci tekil zamiri- çıkaracağını görüp onu bir okur olarak bile yalnız bırakmamam gerektiğini bilip devam ettim. Sabra ihtiyacı vardı ve ' Yaşamdan kavgaları çıkarttığın zaman, geriye sevgi, içinde kabarıp taşan bir sevgi kaldığını hayretle fark etmişti.'
Tandem psikozun sınırlarında yasını öteledikçe, çevirdiğim her sayfa ile neyse ki ' tebessümün yinelenen şafağına ' ulaştık.
Beraberce öğrendik ki; ' bahar gelince otlar kendiliğinden büyür '. Yani ' mavi dağ yerinden kımıldamaz'. Demem şu ki ' beyaz bulutlar bir o yana bir bu yana uçuşur'.
Son sayfayı okuyup kapattığım da ilk hissettiğim şey; ‘arkadaşlık iyidir’ olmuştu. Tandem ile arkadaş olmaktan çekinmeyin, okuyun isterim:)

3.5/5 !!!

honestly, wasn’t even in love with the plot of this guy as much as i simply adore Zadie Smith’s style. reading her fiction feels like being in on some elaborate inside joke (re: the characters) that only you and Zadie are privy to. her prose is filled with levity and wit while simultaneously addressing heavy topics like the questioning of one’s faith, inter-generational immigrant dynamics, what it means to be a sleaze ball in an era of seemingly endless possibilities, etc etc. and while her characters tend to be insufferable, they feel too real to hate. it’s almost like she’s tracing a path of understanding for the readers which fails to absolve the character of guilt, but ultimately offers up a choice of empathy rather than hatred or annoyance.

and now i’m rambling. but just know i love this mama and her style of writing with all my soul, and can’t wait to read much more!!!

My first acquaintance with Zadie Smith's work, The Autograph Man has left me convinced of her far-reaching talent. While this book has plenty of flaws, Ms. Smith's story-telling exuberance (for me) wins out and makes my beefs with it seem picayune by comparison.

We follow Alex-Li Tandem, Chinese/English/confused Jew/young alkie/stoner/titular "Autograph Man" as he tries (mostly unsuccessfully) to get past the death of his father thirteen years prior. He's pretty much stuck in Schlub-land, getting stoned and drunk all the time, ignoring his girlfriend working in a go-nowhere profession as an autograph dealer. His life takes a fortuitous turn as he pursues the autograph of his childhood idol, Kitty Alexander, an actress from the 1950's long removed from the public eye.

While I don't agree with most of the criticisms of this book (The Autograph Man is, with a 3.1-star cume Goodreads average, the lowest-rated of Ms. Smith's four novels), she does leave herself open for critical attack. Alex is quite unlikable, the story rambles on quite a bit, the ending is, well...not exactly satisfying. Ms. Smith, though, surrounds our protagonist with three childhood friends; their banter is at times hilarious and make up for Alex's unsympathetic character flaws. The story is consistently engaging and clever.

If you're even casually interested in Judaica, old movies, or schlubby characters in search of themselves, I recommend this book to you. Don't let the low GR rating dissuade you (as it almost did me.)

smith has the most unique style. rich characters. abstract and disjointed and clever

Ο συλλέκτης αυτογράφων είναι ένα βιβλίο που τελειώνοντάς το, μου άφησε μια αίσθηση γλυκύτητας. Έχει μια ιδιαίτερα φρέσκια και ενδιαφέρουσα αφηγηματική απόδοση της ιστορίας με πολύ ζωντανούς και καθημερινούς διαλόγους. Με γραφή που υμνεί την φιλοδοξία, την επιμονή, το πέρασμα στην πρακτική ενηλικίωση (παρά την διατήρηση του έφηβου ήρωα μέσα στο ενήλικο σώμα του) μα κυρίως το θεωρώ ένα βιβλίο αφιερωμένο στην φιλία. Απέφυγε έντεχνα τις ύβρεις που συναντώνται στους καθημερινούς διαλόγους, ξεδιπλώνοντας ταυτόχρονα ένα ωραιότατο λεξιλόγιο που εξυπηρετεί την ιστορία της, καθόλου πομπώδες ή επιτηδευμένο.
Ίσως να έδινα και μισό αστεράκι ακόμη αν η - κατά τα άλλα - ταλαντούχα Smith εμβάθυνε λίγο περισσότερο στους χαρακτήρες της που σε σημεία μοιάζουν λίγο επιφανειακοί. Σίγουρα θα αναζητήσω κι άλλα δείγματα γραφής της.

After reading "White Teeth," I probably had unreasonably high expectations for "The Autograph Man." A book centered around the life of a man who hustles autographs, has myserious substance abuse problems, and an obsession with a timeless film icon - this book lacked the magic. I didn't care about the characters on the same deep level as in "White Teeth" - and their lives didn't intertwine in a meaningful way that I could appreciate. This novel seemed all over the place and even-sappy? I'm sure I'm being overly harsh since her previous book is definitely a new favorite for me.

On a positive note, there is still that signature Zadie Smith wisdom and transcendence. She is a master of the witty and poignant - and even though this plot lacked direction for me, I still think that she is a phenomenal writer. In particular, I love that she referenced Rasputin in a book centered around the buying and selling of stardom. She is able to tell a story, while having side conversations that are culturally and socially relavent.

This book was about two hundred pages longer than it should have been.

The author meanders through the ghost of a plot, digressing at every opportunity and usually making little (or no) sense. Despite all the pages used up exploring Alex's thoughts on life and religion, his character still seems hollow. He makes mistakes, he occasionally regrets, he whines, he makes more mistakes and so goes the life of Alex-Li Tandem.

Hopefully, White Teeth will be better.

A good book for young people who are nostalgic for childhood but obsessed with Instagram. More seriously, Zadie Smith stirs up so many questions on communication and emoting with few answers, but gives a worthwhile ride.

Ho paura, al secondo tentativo dopo Denti bianchi con Zadie Smith, che non ritroverò più così tanto fascino e perfezione come nell'esordio. La penna è la stessa, ma molto più soffusa e il focus si perde più volte. È da leggere comunque per l'assurdità della trama e l'ironia feroce dell'autrice (è meglio rispetto a Swing time, per fare un paragone).
Nota a margine, non amo leggere di protagonisti costantemente ubriachi o alterati, perciò qui non ci siamo.

Perhaps the least "together" of Zadie Smith's books, but still quite entertaining. Manifests an obsession with Jewishness throughout which seems to alienate some readers. Another frequent comment is that the protagonist seems to be liked far more by his author than by his readers. For all that, worth the time, as Smith as, for me, proven to be in all cases to date.

A loyal Zadie Smith fan and avid reader of her books made me skeptical about some of the harsher reactions to this one, yet sadly I have to admit I am equally disappointed and perhaps even offended at the quality of this work when we know she can do so much better. She doesn't seem to have put much thought in to this, and was instead rolling off the attention high from the praise for White Teeth. Smith's work is often unrefined which is something I love so much because you can really hear her voice, wit, and humor. There are still a few laugh out loud moments in Autograph Man, however this one is put together poorly overall. The characters have potential, but are for the most part under-developed. Even the main character Alex is unrelatable and unsympathetic. The best part of the book is the prologue where Alex takes a trip to a wrestling match with his childhood friends and father. The rest of the book ruminates on these characters, using them time and again to serve a purpose in Alex's life, but it is all contrived, gimmicky, superficial and sorry to say... utter crap.