Autumn

Already sold over 30,000 copies in hardback, trade paperback and ebookPublished two months ahead of its hardback sequel, Winter : the next novel in 'Seasonal', Ali Smith's landmark book-a-year quartet, connecting the seasons with themes of ageing, time, love and stories themselvesCover design using a gorgeous David Hockney painting - we will use a different Hockney from the same series for each of the quartet - this highly recognisable British artist has a solo exhibition in the Tate Modern this yearHow to be both (over 180,000 all formats) won the Baileys Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel of the Year and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of Spring, Winter, Autumn, Public library and other stories, How to be both, Shire, Artful, There but for the, The first person and other stories, Girl Meets Boy, The Accidental, The whole story and other stories, Hotel World, Other stories and other stories, Like and Free Love. Hotel World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. The Accidental was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. How to be both won the Bailey's Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Costa Novel of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Autumn was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017 and Winter was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2018. Ali Smith lives in Cambridge.I love Ali Smith's writing, and I've been keeping Autumn for an end-of-book holiday treatIn a country apparently divided against itself, a writer such as Smith is more valuable than a whole parliament of politiciansBold and brilliant, dealing with the body blow of Brexit to offer us something rare: hopeHumour, grace, solace...A light-footed meditation on mortality, mutability and how to keep your head in troubled timesTranscendental writing about art, death and all the dimensions of love. It's not so much 'reading between the lines' as being blinded by the light between the lines - in a good wayThe novel of the year is obviously Ali Smith's Autumn, which managed the miracle of making at least a kind of sense out of post-Brexit BritainAutumn is a beautiful, poignant symphony of memories, dreams and transient realitiesExperimental, thematically complex, associative, time-juggling, powered by a crazed and energetic curiosityPure literary magicPuckish, yet elegant; angry, but comforting. Long may she Remain that wayA wonderfully risky project...an ambitious, multi-layered creation...an energising and uplifting storyA moving exploration of the intricacies of the imagination, a sly teasing-out of a host of big ideas and small revelations, all hovering around a timeless quandary: how to observe, how to beI wonder: How does she manage to so wonderfully weave in and out of time, to layer time, while creating something that feels like it was written this morning after she read today's newspaper?Publisher's description. Autumn 2016: the UK is in pieces, divided by a historic once-in-a-generation summer. Love is won, love is lost. The seasons roll round as ever. From the imagination of the peerless Ali Smith comes a shape-shifting, light-footed, time-travelling novel. This is a story about right now, this minute; about ageing and time and love and stories themselves. Here comes Autumn.Transcendental writing about art, death and all the dimensions of love. It's not so much 'reading between the lines' as being blinded by the light between the lines - in a good wayThe book I'd like to receive for Christmas: Ali Smith's Autumn.Fantastic writing, big ideas and generosity of spirit[Ali Smith] is Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting - and I can't wait for her new bookHumour, grace, solace...A light-footed meditation on mortality, mutability and how to keep your head in troubled timesAutumn is a beautiful, poignant symphony of memories, dreams and transient realities[Ali Smith] is simply incapable of writing a dull paragraphBold and brilliant, dealing with the body blow of Brexit to offer us something rare: hope.The novel of the year is obviously Ali Smith's Autumn, which managed the miracle of making at least a kind of sense out of post-Brexit Britain.Ever-inventive...Autumn is the first serious Brexit novel...In a country apparently divided against itself, a writer such as Smith is more valuable than a whole parliament of politicians.

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2017

A once-in-a-generation series, Ali Smith's Seasonal quartet is a tour-de-force about love, time, art, politics, and how we live now.

'Undoubtedly Smith at her best. Puckish, yet elegant; angry, but comforting' The Times

Daniel is a century old. Elisabeth, born in 1984, has her eye on the future. The United Kingdom is in pieces, divided by a historic once-in-a-generation summer.

Love is won, love is lost. Hope is hand in hand with hopelessness. The seasons roll round, as ever . . .

Discover all four instalments: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. Ali Smith's new novel, Companion piece, is available now.

*****

ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

'Undoubtedly Smith at her best. Puckish, yet elegant; angry, but comforting' The Times

'Bold and brilliant' Observer

'Terrific, extraordinary, playful . . . There is an awful lot to lift the soul' Daily Mail