Zadie Smith “The Autograph Man”

Zadie Smith Tge Autograph Man Fiction Paperback Non smoking pet free home New York Times Notable Book A Los Angeles Times Best Book One of Granta's Best Young British Novelists of the Year "The same bracing intelligence and salty humor that distinguished her debut. ... Smith scatters marvelous sentences and sharp insights on nearly every page." -Los Angeles Times Alex-Li Tandem sells autographs. 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 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 trappings of modernity: celebrity, cinema, and the ugly triumph of symbol over experience. It offers further proof that Zadie Smith is one of the most staggeringly talented writers of her generation. "A lovely surprise. Zadie Smith ... has come out with a second book that is actually better than its predecessor: its dialogue funnier, its language even more plugged in, more wired." -Esquire