Autumn

by Ali Smith · 1988

In "Autumn," Ali Smith captures the fragile beauty of the season as a backdrop for a quartet of interwoven narratives that explore love, loss, and the uneasy politics of our time. Through a cast of characters—an elderly woman confronting memory, a young couple navigating grief, a climate activist confronting denial, and a writer wrestling with the weight of history—Smith weaves a lyrical tapestry that reflects the world’s shifting colors and moods. Her prose is both playful and profound, turning ordinary moments into portals of insight, while the novel’s structure mirrors the season’s gradual decay and quiet renewal. Longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize, "Autumn" is a resonant meditation on how personal stories echo the larger, inevitable cycles of change.