Smith’s post-Brexit novel gives an insight into the political uncertainty of the 21st century. From 2016 onwards we have been fed a constant stream of lies from politicians and Smith’s book reflects this mistrust between the people and those in power.
The main protagonist, Elisabeth, is caught up in the turmoil of post-Brexit Britain whilst trying to navigate a normal life amongst this chaos. The text has a dreamlike quality to it, almost reminiscent of how the past five years have felt surreal. Elisabeth looks up to a man called Daniel, who is almost a century old and has taught her many lessons throughout her life. Daniel, however, is nearing the end of his life. Daniel represents everything that Elisabeth lacks in her life. He has lived through a multitude of historical events whereas Elisabeth is living her life through political uncertainty, working part time, with no sense of permanence in the 21st century.
Daniel floating in and out of consciousness while in the hospice represents the slow death of culture, history and identity. The book shows how there has been a slow decline in the importance of these historical events. Perhaps pointing out that as a society we have slowly grown further and further away from the significance of these life altering events, as we have become so accustomed to them.
Previously I had not particularly enjoyed Smith’s work, however after reading ‘Autumn’as part of my university course, I was deeply intrigued by her style of writing and I am looking forward to reading or re-reading more of her work.