The Autograph Man

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.

‰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