Description
WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2021
A once-in-a-generation series, Ali Smith's Seasonal quartet is a tour-de-force about love, time, art, politics, and how we live now.
'A maestra's portrait of her age . . . remarkable' Guardian
In the present, Sacha knows the world's in trouble. Her brother Robert just is trouble. Their mother and father are having trouble. Meanwhile the world's in meltdown - and the real meltdown hasn't even started yet. In the past, a lovely summer. A different brother and sister know they're living on borrowed time.
This is a story about people on the brink of change. They're family, but they think they're strangers. So: where does family begin? And what do people who think they've got nothing in common have in common?
Summer.
Discover all four instalments: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. Ali Smith's new novel, Companion piece, is available now.
*****
'The first great coronavirus novel - a book to savour, a literary tour de force' Evening Standard
'Exquisite. Smith is in a class of her own' Nicola Sturgeon
'An astonishing finale to a prescient series . . . Ali Smith brilliantly weaves strands of joy and celebration to end her Seasonal Quartet' Irish Times
About the Author
Ali Smith was born in Inverness in 1962. She is the author of several novels and short story collections including, The Accidental, Hotel World, How to Be Both and the Seasonal Quartet. She has been four times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, has won the Goldsmiths Prize, Orwell Prize, Costa Best Novel Award and the Women's Prize. Ali Smith lives in Cambridge.
Reviews
An astonishing finale to a prescient series . . . Ali Smith brilliantly weaves strands of joy and celebration to end her Seasonal Quartet * Evening Standard *
The first great coronavirus novel - a book to savour, a literary tour de force that captures the nation's psyche exquisitely * Evening Standard *
This singular writer has found her moment * Prospect *
A maestra's portrait of her age. . . remarkable * Guardian *
Few writers today can make a more compelling claim to singularity of innovation and sustained brilliance * TLS *
The bravura performance of a writer, poised at the edge of the day's vast darkness, gathering all the warmth and light of our inner summer * The Washington Post *
Smith bring[s] this brilliant quartet to a satisfying close * NPR *
The final flourish of a mazy and beautiful quartet * Telegraph *
Sublime * The Boston Globe *
Brilliant * The Scotsman *
The novel's hopeful message about the healing power of friendship ensures the quartet ends on a feel-good note * Sunday Times *
A remarkable experiment with timeliness in fiction * Literary Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780241973370
Author Ali Smith
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 278g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 24mm