This book has performed a necessary feat--revived my love of literature and STORY post a 3-year, year-round, purely academic stint. An unmatched feeling (exclusive to the luxury of reading for pleasure) constantly arises: I read, I stare at a household object or tree and repeat the gifted string of words, thinking, how in the world did anyone know to write this? How did Smith know to wrap up the humour of philography, the elusiveness of fame, the over-the-top sanctity of religious belief, and the ongoing effort to reconcile with death all in one go? It seems absurd in theory, but I seem to have an inimitable connection with the product of her many hours of brilliance.

I've been aching for that feeling of wonder from my younger days for so long--you have no idea. It was previously reserved for classics like "Matilda," then "The Secret Garden," then "The Catcher in the Rye." More recently, "The Namesake." It's come again, with the adorable Alex-Li Tandem and his oddly- or wonderfully-shaped and spoken friends and acquantainces.

Really, this is hardly a magnificent review or an adequate description of the work, just a sentimental few paragraphs of HOW MUCH I LOVE ZADIE SMITH.

But, you should know, concerning points of interest:
Chinese Jewish professional autograph man (check)
African girlfriend with a pacemaker (check)
London, New York (check)
Heaps of tea and booze (check)
Both heaps of Torah and goyishness (check)

A million thanks, Zadie! You are forever my author girl-crush.

(Now, to the end. I don't suspect my feelings will change much.)

Of all of Ms. Smith's books, "The Autograph Man," her second novel, garnered the most mixed reaction, which is why I read it last. I can certainly understand the disappointment for those critics and fans who awaited its arrival after her stunning debut, "White Teeth." Its tone, especially in the first half, is somber and claustrophobic, as the reader follows the protagonist, Alex Li-Tandem, through the aftermath of a drug-induced hangover as he prepares for the anniversary of his father's death. It takes a good hundred and fifty pages before the narrative picks up speed, a plot, and finally a broader cast of characters, which is always where this authors shines, her biggest gift being the ability to capture the voices and inner lives of men and women from a multitude of ages, races and socioeconomic roles. In this second half, the title and ruminations on fame that seemed so esoteric in the first half come to gripping life as Alex travels to New York in search of a reclusive star and meets an unlikely companion on his journey. But, it's the ending, which in both her more lauded first and third novels she was criticized for over stage-managing, where this novel shines, for though the plot comes to a pleasing conclusion, the characters are all left in very recognizable places of transition, between my generation's extended adolescence and adulthood, a threshold where we must look at faith, love and the relationships in our lives and realize that no amount of pop culture savvy can save us.

Well, I hear that this isn't Zadie Smith's best work and now I'm saddened because I now have no desire to read anything else she has ever written. It was a struggle to get through this, and frankly I'm not even sure why I gave it three stars. In fact, I'm changing it to two right now. Okay, done.

Both the language and characters are incredibly mundane. INCREDIBLY. I could not sympathize with Alex at all, ever. He was the flattest character ever. In fact, all of the characters were flat. Even Kitty Alexander, the once-famous movie star who he FINALLY meets after years is just this boring old woman. The ending was so muddled and blah and quite frankly, I hate myself a little more for reading this entire novel. I had a bad vibe around page 15 but because I have this obsession with finishing every book I start, I forced myself to finish it.

If you’re looking to read some Zadie Smith then I’d recommend you steer clear of this one... It pains me to say it, as Smith’s other four novels are all absolute delights, but unfortunately I found this one very tedious - But you can all rest assured that I recommend White Teeth, Swing Time, On Beauty and NW heartily!
.
Usually Smith’s novels are bursting with life and vibrancy, there’s a great sprawling cast of characters and she turns her sharp eye to dissecting society... in The Autograph Man, there’s a man. Who trades and sells autographs. It’s very much centred on Alex-Li’s life, without any further exploration of wider society which Smith does so well.
.
I’m often all for novels that are character-driven, even if the main character is unlikeable, that’s fine by me as long as they’re interesting. Unfortunately, again, Alex-Li is neither likeable nor very interesting. It feels like blasphemy writing this review, as I count Zadie Smith among my favourite authors, but this just did not do it for me at all!
.
A slight saving grace were the supporting characters, who very much were just there to provide some background to Alex-Li, if there’d been more focus on them it would have made for a slightly better story.

Now I’ve read all of Zadie Smith’s novels. This is my least favorite, but it’s a good novel. It’s a 3.5 for me. What I love about this novel is its humor and quirkiness. The characters are nutty! The storyline is good and zany! I found myself reading the dialogue out loud. What I also liked was the blending of fictional characters who resemble real celebrities. Very good. So why 3.5? The lives of the characters were foreign to me, unrelatable. Though the characters represented different ethnic groups, Smith elected to touch lightly on the issues of race and ethnicity. She does dig deep into Judaism and its mystical variety in this book. But that aspect failed to hook me in deeply.

I hated the main character and didn't understand his choices. I found it really hard to concentrate on what was going on (admittedly I was listening to the book over one drive and in short chunks) and found I didn't care, which can't be good. Towards the latter half of the book, I kept wanting it to speed up and end already! There is one brief section I did like towards the beginning of the novel, narrated from the point of view of the Alex's father. But it's a very short section in comparison to the whole novel.

liked it a little less than her previous book probably because the main character was such a tool. but i got into it enough.

Zadie Smith can write, no doubt about it.
And reading her prose is a pleasure, as it was in this, her second outing after White Teeth.

This is a quirky, eccentric story, unfortunately for me, it was also a tedious one. I just couldn't find it in me to care anything for this protagonist and the other characters. A flabby plot in over 400 pages.

Not for me.

2 ⭐️
It took me a while to get into the story. Once I did it was fine, I liked the idea of meeting your idols. However, I did not think this was funny even though it is described as such.

I am so glad that this is the second zadie smith book that I have read, for rest assured, if it had been the first it would have been the only.

This is appalling and I am not sure what kept me going through its 410 pages.

Its starts Ok with a prelogue that reads as though it has been tagged on. Three kids and a father go to a wrestling match between Big Daddy and Haystacks and the one child gets an autograph. Only by reading reviews of the book did I realise that the father died during the scramble to get the autograph. This is even after revisiting the section!

Incredible.

Then the stort meanders on as the kids are in their mid twenties. Alex Li Tandem is half chinese, half jewish and all dull. He lives a slacker life trading autographs, eventually travelling to America to a collection fayre where he tracks down the elusive Kitty and collect artifacts that make him money.

Whereas On Beauty was full of excellent charaterisation - this was bland beyond belief. Chapter headings tried to tie in with Kabbalism, whcih I know nothing about and the whole story (for what there was) lurched from nothingness to nothingness with no drama or interest.

As you would expect, there were some smart observations and turns of phrase but the end (especially the end) was dull beyond belief and a relief to finish.

I will try White Teeth to see which part of the spectrum that appears at.

I'd delayed reading this book for many years because of the mediocre reviews but there it was: a lone English novel, in a Spanish book shop, so I decided to take the plunge. Plus I had just finished rereading On Beauty, which is enjoyable and insightful, and works so well as an updated Howard's End.
Unfortunately the reviews were right. This feels like it was difficult to write; you can sense the sections where Smith must have thrown up her hands in despair. It makes several clunky attempts to offer insight into the vapid nature of celebrity but it feels painfully forced - a reference to a bird singing the first notes of a popular show tune made me blush - and the Jewish/Goyish thing, although amusing at first, quickly becomes infuriating.
I always despair of reviews that complain of the lack of 'likeable characters', but you know a novel is in trouble when you could quite happily punch the noses of those with whom the author intends you to sympathise. Alex is meant to be irksome (I presume) but Adam is just a massive pain in the arse. (Is suspicion of the over earnest a Goyish thing?)
By some coincidence I started rereading London Fields halfway through (out of despair and necessity) and the similarities between Smith and Amis and their approach to tales of the city are striking, but Amis wrote about young lust, when he was in his precocious phase, and Smith has attempted to tackle something that Amis wisely left alone for a few years. I have NW on my bookshelf and I am afraid.

Did not get on with this. Gave up half way.couldnt care less about the characters. Glad it was a library book!