So. I finally finished Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet. Admittedly, it has been quite a journey. My enjoyment of the individual novels has varied from a lower-end 3 stars to an almost perfect 4 1/2.
Whilst I’m sad to conclude Ali Smith will never become a favourite author of mine, I am nevertheless impressed by the Seasonal Quartet. First of all, I am in awe of how multi-facetted the novels are and how much ground they cover. Through the four seasons, Smith discusses a variety of current events in the UK, such as Brexit, lockdown, refugee crisis and the fire in Grenfell Tower. A strong political commentary accompanies the discussion. We meet a huge number of characters, some of which reappear in the final instalment, Summer. Daniel from Autumn quickly became a favourite character of mine and I wrote in my review that I would love to know more of his backstory. In Summer, we get just that and as an extra bonus we also learn more about his sister’s story. As it turns out, Daniel is the character connecting the four seasons.
When first starting Autumn, it took me a while to get used to Ali Smith’s writing style, which is quite fragmented, jumping between time periods and characters. When I got to Summer, I’d got used to it. And I’d really started to appreciate Smith’s sense of humour and creative playfulness with words, language and concepts.
Some people have asked, whether the books work on a stand-alone basis. Whereas it is possible to dive in randomly, I would highly recommend to go all in, i.e. read the whole thing, starting with Autumn. There is a strong synergy; the total work certainly exceeds the sum of the four individual components. Together the books paint a picture of the UK in a specific time period. Despite being quite different, similar themes flow through the seasons and ultimately create a coherent narrative.
Also, Smith uses a range of references and connections throughout. And it is quite fun trying to do the “seasonal bingo card”. Find the Dickens-inspired quote, the Shakespeare play, the artist, the Chaplin reference, the SA4A connection, etc., etc. The first review on Goodreads includes quite an extensive list.
Looking back, my favourite part has been the clever dialogues, the word plays and the humour. My least favourite part has been the heavy-handed delivery of the author’s political message. Please, have faith in readers, we don’t need to be force-fed or have everything spelled out. Most of us can think for ourselves and draw our own conclusions. 😉
There is a lot to take in from these books and I am sure the quartet could benefit from a reread. Will I do so? Probably not.
“We’re always looking for the full open leaf, the open warmth, the promise that we’ll one day soon surely be able to lie back and have summer done to us; one day soon we’ll be treated well by the world.”
Title: Summer [2020] Author: Ali Smith Format: Audiobook, narrated by Juliette Burton Genre: Contemporary Fiction
This looks encouraging. I too started off by reading Autumn, fully expecting to enjoy it,. And I didn’t. But your own reading experience suggests it’s worth persisting. So I will. Though I need to get that TBR down to manageable proportions first.
I found it useful to spread it out a bit. It has taken me 1-2 years to get through the quartet. This meant I could still remember the characters and plots from the previous novels, but gave me enough space not to “overdose” on her writing.
Sounds like a plan!
I loved Autumn when I listened to it last year, and as you know wasn’t so keen on Winter, but definitely want to finish the Quartet. It’s really good to know that Daniel is in the other books as I liked him as well.
Seeing that he is 104 in Summer, most of Daniel’s story is flashback to his youth, which was quite interesting. Did you know the UK had internment camps during WW2? I hope you will enjoy the remaining books in the quartet! 😀
Coincidentally, I saw Smith’s books yesterday at a local library. Maybe I’ll give them a try one day. Have you read, by the way, the Alexandria Quartet novels by Durrell?
If you come across Autumn at the library, maybe check out the first couple of chapters. You will quickly be able to assess whether you get on with Smith’s writing. No, I haven’t read the Alexandria Quartet. Actually, I haven’t even heard of it, which is probably embarrassing.
It does sound like a decent quartet. The political talk is definitely something that intrigues me most from this series, but it does sound like the author doesn’t exactly write about it in a way that makes you want to hear more. Great review! 😀
I think her urge to hit the reader on the head with her views took complete overhand in Spring. In the other instalments, it was more balanced. Thanks Lashaan!
You make the Quartet sound appealing. Perhaps I didn’t read them due to the fragmented style or I didn’t think I’d get them fully … but I am a bit curious to hear what she has to say about the events of the day. Though the heavy-handedness would not be too fun. Still I’m a bit interested to try them — I love humor in stories and seasons.
Smith really is a wizard, when it comes to playing with word and language. The quartet is almost worth reading, just for that. Admittedly, it did take me a little while to get used to the writing style, but maybe that is just me. You could give Autumn a try, if you get the chance, it is fairly short. I got it from the library, so it wouldn’t be a big deal, if I had to DNF.
I’ve bee dithering about whether to add this set to my list or not since your first review and despite the four-star rating for Summer, still can’t decide! Glad this ended o a high for you.
It is a bit of a project to read all four of them, but most of the books are very short and spreading it over 1-2 years, it works really well. I am glad I’ve read the books and I am even considering rereading Autumn. Since it took me a while to get used to the writing, I am not sure, I fully appreciated the first book.
I have never been able to get into this author, both the style and the content, but I’m interested to read your review. I really dislike being preached at, I prefer a lighter touch when politics is in fiction.
Yes, I am the same with politics in fiction. Luckily, there were other elements to enjoy. I do see, that her writing style is acquired taste and not for everyone.
I’ve ummed and ahhed over this series but that you say it works better as a whole is the best encouragement, I think I’ll give it a go and start in Autumn as you suggest, I love recurring themes and characters and the seasonal bingo card sounds very interesting!
It’s a good test to start with Autumn, which is very short and gives a good taste of what comes in the rest of the quartet. I think in the UK, you can probably find it at the library. Haha, yeah, the seasonal bingo card is quite fun!