Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man

Beatriz Perez Zapata (University of the Balearic Islands)

Ed. by Jenni Ramone, The Nottingham Trent University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2002

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Following the publication of Smith’s first novel, White Teeth (2000), The Autograph Man (2002) was less acclaimed. Its publication was surrounded by rumours of writer’s block (Tew, “Zadie Smith” 40) and it has often been regarded as Smith’s less powerful narrative, with critics such as Adam Mars Jones and James Woods arguing against its pastiche and the American feel of the narrative. Smith’s second novel is not a direct inheritor to White Teeth: although still present, the core themes of identity and cultural struggles that caught the attention of publishers and readers alike were not as evident. Furthermore, they gave way to an even more difficult one: grief in a m…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

3151 words

Citation: Perez Zapata, Beatriz. "The Autograph Man". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10599, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Save this article