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Read The Autograph Man (2003)

The Autograph Man (2003)

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Rating
3.12 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
037570387X (ISBN13: 9780375703874)
Language
English
Publisher
vintage books usa

The Autograph Man (2003) - Plot & Excerpts

Le lecteur goodreadsien moyen n'est pas particulièrement enthousiaste face à ce livre. C'était le deuxième roman de Zadie Smith, après White Teeth (qu'il faudrait vraiment que je relise), & on voit que le lectorat avait pas l'intention de lui en laisser passer une. Je suis contente de ne pas l'avoir lu au moment de sa publication. Je suis contente de l'avoir découvert à tête reposée, loin des attentes qui pesaient sur sa pauvre petite reliure. C'est le dernier roman de Zadie Smith qu'il me restait à lire & je trouve que, même s'il est un peu maladroit, il s'insère bien dans le reste de son œuvre. On y retrouve Londres, les joies & les misères du multiculturalisme ; on y retrouve ces personnages irrémédiablement imparfaits & toujours un peu exaspérants ; on y retrouve les dialogues de Zadie Smith, si bien construits, & son humour. Ce n'est pas aussi bien ficelé que ça pourrait l'être. Le crèmage manque un peu de sucre. Mais moi je l'ai lu sans peine, avec beaucoup de plaisir.Pour commencer par le commencement : Alex-Li Tandem approche la trentaine, habite en banlieue de Londres & est autographiste de profession. Ce n'est pas un loisir, c'est un métier : il traque les autographes, les échange & les revend, en évalue l'authenticité. Son meilleur ami est un semi-illuminé captivé par la Kabbale juive ; sa blonde a dans la poitrine un pacemaker qui arrive à échéance ; son père est mort quand Alex avait douze ou treize ans, juste après un glorieux match de lutte entre Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks (oui oui). La vie d'Alex est un peu brouillonne, elle part dans tous les sens -- & l'intrigue du livre aussi, on se le cachera pas. Mais l'existence de notre héros est portée par une obsession singulière : celle d'obtenir l'autographe de Kitty Alexander, ancienne starlette du Golden Age hollywoodien, maintenant à peu près tombée dans l'oubli. C'est une quête qui touche à l'absolu & qui se met les pieds direct dans le ridicule ; c'est à l'image du roman, j'imagine, & à ce qu'il essaie de nous dire.Je pense que pour apprécier ce livre, il faut être capable de se résoudre à deux choses : 1) Alex-Li Tandem ne sera jamais un être productif & fonctionnel (ou même fondamentalement sympathique) aux sens stricts de ces termes ; 2) tous les passages sur la Torah & la Kabbale & le judaïsme ne mèneront nulle part -- & ça j'imagine que c'est possiblement un commentaire très cynique sur la valeur des rituels & de la religion, mais j'avoue que ça m'intéresse semi, donc. Une fois ces deux aspects réglés (& les attentes modulées en conséquence), c'est difficile de ne pas au moins un peu aimer un roman qui en donne tellement : tellement d'idées, tellement de personnages, tellement de bouts d'intrigue qui finissent en cul-de-sac, tellement de morceaux d'une prose parfaite & parfaitement limpide, cristalline, acérée. & même une ébauche d'étude sur les hipsters de Brooklyn qui date de deux mille deux, mesdames & messieurs.Je sais que Zadie Smith est devenue (relativement) pas mal célèbre avec la publication de White Teeth, & c'est surtout à ça que j'ai pensé en lisant ce roman : comment l'expérience de la célébrité doit être troublante, comment elle doit bouleverser la vision qu'on a de soi-même. C'est une bien drôle de bête, protéiforme, glissante de partout. J'ai bien aimé la façon dont Smith a essayé de la raconter: avec un récit tout aussi changeant & capricieux. Pas uniformément réussi, mais faut bien que l'ambition soit récompensée à un moment donné, non? Alors quatre bonnes étoiles pour celui-ci.

not a flawless work of fiction (whatever that means) but i've got a soft spot for zadie smith. the thing is, i have taken it upon myself to handle this thing called literature in a logical and thoroughly disciplined manner. this means i do not usually forray into the 21st century, not until i get my head around what shaped it. but then come those moments when i need a breather from all the high brow genius and all the modern classics or, as i call it, 'books unsuitable for my daily commute'. so this time around i ditched nabokov in favour of something that does not require the reader to remain awe-struck from the very first word to the last. something that does not need superhuman brain powers. something that can be read on a bloody bus. now, this is not to say that zadie smith is undemanding. zadie smith is nothing short of top-notch! this book here was not as good as i remember her other works to be but it still gave me what i needed. the contemporary, the urban, the relatable, the british! it's funny that out of all writers in the world, nabokov was the one to be put on hold by my intelletually exhausted self, in favour of smith. because it's quite clear that smith is nabokov's girl through and through and, just like her master, she seems to like her readers competent and knowledgeable. but then she's that much more approachable. and tons more credible.i found the plot of this particular novel a bit sloppy (at times) and slightly chaotic (but it had moments ) but as far as language is concerned, smith is at her very best. i think she is such a wonderfully balanced stylist. there's just the right amount of everything. the language is current without the threat of ever becoming dated, urban without being ridiculously slangy, elegant but never annoyingly polished and rich minus the unnecessary flourish. i truly wish there were more writers out there who do not let their learned craft stifle their natural brilliance but still possess that bloody craft in the first place. nothing better than 'a voice of the generation' who actually knows her stuff!

What do You think about The Autograph Man (2003)?

ORIGINAL REVIEW:James Wood in his thesis review covers all the thoughts I had on this one (and more and more) and is the most worthwhile review of this book around. For those who aren’t that interested, let me sum up the basics: lapsed Anglo-Chinese Jew Alex-Li is an autograph hunter fixated on Kitty Alexander, fictional Hollywood starlet of the 1950s. He spends his time writing a book on Jews v. Christians, spurning his faith, squabbling with rabbis, upsetting his bald girlfriend and cavorting with fellow autograph hunters. In the latter half of the book he meets his idol and develops inner demons.Smith’s other novels are vast multi-character epics and her towering authorial presence benefits from having numerous dummies to manipulate, rather than the one insubstantial dummy. This novel could have benefitted from a less grandiose scope for quite a thin plot and morose protagonist: a slim 250 pages over a hoggish 419. On the plus side, the prose is as comic, stylish and rhythmic as ever, though her longer meandering passages feel like failed snippets from White Teeth. Hats off for writing a radically different second book—Zadie put up with some hostility in the UK round about this time.APPENDED MOAN FOUND IN DOCUMENTS FOLDER:It does bug me quite how many readers think they have the right to desecrate a writer’s work on here with their off-handed dismissals and oh-so-clever putdowns, usually “steaming pile of . . . ” or “a complete waste of . . . ” What gives a casual reader the right to take such a stance about someone else’s passionate labour other than sheer spite? Where is this spite coming from? Has the book personally offended you?OK, so you dislike the book. Fine! I can understand the plot or characters didn’t ring your bell, but honestly . . . haven’t we grown as readers enough to weigh a book on its merits? Unless a book offends on a level of stance, in terms of the author’s questionable views, the reviewer should give due weight to each element of the writer’s craft. If they still find it wanting after this, fine! But the arrogance of these people who dismiss books with witless rejoinders—“written by a sophomore student,” or—“I’ve could churned out something better in grad school.” ARE YOU ALL MAD?This book, and Zadie Smith in particular, is a fine example of this bizarre persecution. Do you know how difficult it is to write a book like The Autograph Man? This is why the publishing desks are clotted with ream after ream of dreck: people flinging themselves into writing who haven’t the ability to appreciate an example of lyrical, witty and vital prose, what makes writer like Smith simultaneously as popular as she is cutting-edge. This disgruntlement is part of a wider beef about our obsession with “grading” artworks on their merits—surely, with such a ruthless system of critical appraisal around books, music, cinema, TV, we’d filter what is “allowed” to get made, what people might want to see based on the endless chatter of feedback—but instead, we have a mainstream that celebrates the lowest common denominator, and an avant-garde relentlessly bitching over what gets published and deemed “cutting edge.” The line between popular and artistic is being tugged to breaking point, whereas a writer like Smith straddles this line, offering a neutral pleasure for both territories. And we moan and moan!OK. I’m done.
—MJ Nicholls

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.
—Steven

This is the first Zadie Smith book I've read. I really enjoyed her style.She uses very modern characters and deliberately chooses unique and sometimes surprising ethnic/social/economic groups to make them fresh and interesting - the main character is Alex-Li Tandem, a half-Chinese Jew who trades in autographs. Her characters all have a comic feel to them but she sketches them in a respectful way and they still seem (just about) believable.She uses a lot of dialogue. She's not afraid to gently poke fun at the way people of different backgrounds say things. It's the conversation between the characters that shapes the story, provides the (many) comic moments and keeps the plot developing.The arc of the plot is interesting if a little odd. It's primarily a book about a young man searching for some kind of meaning or success in his life - like a hundred other books. In this case, success means securing the autograph of Kitty Alexander, a washed up ex-Hollywood actress. I assumed Tandem's quest would peter out and end in misery, but the book takes a surprising turn when Tandem travels to America and finds Kitty. It then becomes a story about what achieving your dream actually means (not very much) and leads on to a new comic series of events but unfortunately not much in the way of new insight into the characters.I did like the ending though - I won't give it away but it's simple, poignant and ties the book up nicely.I'd definitely read Zadie Smith again. The Autograph Man wasn't a classic but I enjoyed her style and I think I'd like to give White Teeth a try next.7/10
—Craig

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