What started out as a promising read quickly turned into a...really crappy one. I know this makes me sound somewhat like a whiny seventh grader when I say this, but god, this book was booooorring. I read the entire thing hoping that at some point it'd turn the corner and pick up the pace, but no, it just basically ground itself out into a completely anti-climactic ending. But before that we got pages and pages of...I don't even know what, I disliked this book so much that I immediately purged it from my mind upon finishing it. I think there were some ramblings about Jewish mysticism, autographs, and then some more Jewish mysticism, and then more about autographs. I wanted to claw my eyes out by the end of the book.

Another thing that also dampened my reading experience was the fact that I hated the main character. I mean, I love as much as the next person the idea of the deeply-flawed-yet-still-very-sympathetic character, but I found nothing at all redeeming about Alex-Li Tandem. Instead, I found myself constantly wishing I could reach into the book and kick him in the head.

In conclusion, I recommend this book to no one.

J'ai hésité entre deux et trois étoiles. Mais si la partie où Alex-Li est à New-York m'a davantage plu, je dois avouer que le reste du roman m'a plutôt ennuyée. Dommage, j'avais beaucoup aimé "Sourires de loup"

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!!!

Every Zadie Smith novel I've read (all of them) have been good, mostly great actually, but I think this one is the hardest to crack. The way her brain works is incredible: how she settled on a story about a Chinese-Jewish autograph connoisseur is mind boggling, but it made for a story that was at times funny, tender, and introspective.

I feel like this novel starts to scratch the surface of the techniques that were on brilliant display in NW, which is my favorite of hers. It's not a straightforward, linear story, but it absolutely works.