The Autograph Man

Zadie Smith

2002 • 368 pages

Ratings17

Average rating3

We live in a world of signs. But not everybody has to trade in them....Alex-Li Tandem sells autographs. A small blip in a huge worldwide network of desire, his business is to hunt for names on paper, collect them, sell them, and occasionally fake them--all to give the people what they want: a little piece of Fame. But what does Alex want? Only the return of his father, the reinstatement of some kind of all-powerful, benevolent God-type figure, the end of religion, something for his headache, three different girls, infinite grace, and the rare autograph of forties movie actress Kitty Alexander. With fries.The Autograph Man is a deeply funny existential tour around the hollow things of modernity: celebrity, cinema, and the ugly triumph of symbol over experience. Through London and then New York, searching for the only autograph that has ever mattered to him, Alex follows the paper trail while resisting the mystical lure of Kabbalah and Zen, and avoiding all collectors, con men, and interfering rabbis who would put themselves in his path. Pushing against the tide of his generation, Alex-Li is on his way to finding enlightenment, otherwise known as some part of himself that cannot be signed, celebrated, or sold.From the Hardcover edition.

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Julia

White Teeth is one of my favorite books ever, and in comparison, On Beauty was good, but a little disappointing. The Autograph Man somehow manages to split the difference between the two, so I feel quite pleased at having had another opportunity to enjoy Zadie Smith's ongoing literary sparkle. Her writing style is a little hard to pin down, which I think is part of the fun; there's a sprinkling of magical realism, her obvious passion for historical detail (and I'm a sucker for Judaism), unusual plots than somehow avoid being twee, and her incisive ability to tap into the chaos and messiness of life. In sum, Ms. Smith is on my short list of people I'd love to have at a dinner party, and she'd better keep up the novel-writing game so I can continue to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

January 1, 2009

Laura

‰ЫПAlex tries to imagine his defence if his life were on trial, that is, if he had to prove its worth. It is a kind of imaginary text he carries around with him ‰Ы_ because somewhere in Alex‰ЫЄs head he is the greatest, most famous person you never heard of. And as such must defend himself from both slander and obscurity. Who else is going to do it? After all, he has no fans.‰Ыќ

January 1, 2005