Autumn Summary

10 questions on the plot and the characters. Each answer comes with a short explanation.

Take it one question at a time

1. Question 1

   What significant historical event has recently occurred in the United Kingdom as the novel begins, causing division?

   1. A general election resulting in a hung parliament
   2. A referendum on leaving the European Union
   3. The Scottish independence referendum
   4. A major economic collapse
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   B. A referendum on leaving the European Union The novel is set in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum, which has left the UK deeply divided and is a constant backdrop to the characters' lives.

2. Question 2

   What is the primary relationship between Elisabeth and Daniel?

   1. They are estranged siblings.
   2. Daniel was a close friend and mentor to Elisabeth's mother, and later to Elisabeth herself.
   3. They are former lovers who reconnected in old age.
   4. Daniel is Elisabeth's grandfather.
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   B. Daniel was a close friend and mentor to Elisabeth's mother, and later to Elisabeth herself. Daniel Gluck was a neighbour and a significant figure in Elisabeth's childhood, acting as a mentor and a profound influence on her intellectual and artistic development.

3. Question 3

   What is Elisabeth's profession or academic focus in the novel?

   1. She is a journalist reporting on current events.
   2. She works in an art gallery as a curator.
   3. She is a junior lecturer in art history.
   4. She is a novelist, struggling with writer's block.
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   C. She is a junior lecturer in art history. Elisabeth is a junior lecturer in art history, and her academic work, particularly her focus on Pauline Boty, is a significant part of her character and the novel's themes.

4. Question 4

   Which historical pop artist does Elisabeth become particularly interested in and study?

   1. Bridget Riley
   2. Pauline Boty
   3. Helen Frankenthaler
   4. Mary Quant
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   B. Pauline Boty Elisabeth's academic work revolves around the forgotten British pop artist Pauline Boty, whose life and art she tries to bring back into public consciousness. Boty's story parallels themes of overlooked history and female artists.

5. Question 5

   How does the novel explore the theme of time and memory, particularly through Daniel's character?

   1. Daniel keeps a detailed diary of all his past experiences.
   2. Daniel is largely confined to his bed and experiences vivid dreams and memories, often blurring past and present.
   3. Daniel actively researches his family history to reconstruct his past.
   4. Daniel suffers from complete amnesia, symbolizing a loss of history.
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   B. Daniel is largely confined to his bed and experiences vivid dreams and memories, often blurring past and present. As Daniel is very old and often in a dream-like state, his memories and thoughts frequently shift between different periods of his life, demonstrating how the past continues to live within the present and the fluidity of memory.

6. Question 6

   What role do bureaucratic processes and waiting play in Elisabeth's current life?

   1. She is trying to get a visa to leave the country, facing long queues.
   2. She is stuck in a long queue at the post office, which serves as a recurring, frustrating motif.
   3. She is waiting for a promotion at her university, dealing with slow administrative procedures.
   4. She is trying to register Daniel for social care, encountering endless forms.
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   B. She is stuck in a long queue at the post office, which serves as a recurring, frustrating motif. A significant recurring scene in the novel involves Elisabeth's frustrating experiences in a never-ending post office queue, symbolizing the stagnant, bureaucratic, and often absurd state of the nation post-Brexit.

7. Question 7

   How does the novel use the changing seasons, specifically autumn, as a thematic device?

   1. It suggests a period of vibrant growth and new beginnings for the characters.
   2. It represents a time of decay, decline, and reflection, mirroring the state of the nation and Daniel's age.
   3. It symbolizes a period of isolation and harshness, forcing characters indoors.
   4. It highlights the cyclical nature of life, with each character experiencing a 'new' autumn.
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   B. It represents a time of decay, decline, and reflection, mirroring the state of the nation and Daniel's age. Autumn, with its connotations of falling leaves, the end of a cycle, and a shift towards winter, perfectly mirrors the themes of decline, loss, and reflection, both for Daniel's life and the divided state of the UK.

8. Question 8

   What is the significance of the recurring images and discussions about pop art, particularly Pauline Boty's work, in the novel?

   1. It serves as a critique of modern art and its lack of depth.
   2. It explores themes of visibility and invisibility, particularly for women artists, and how history is recorded or forgotten.
   3. It provides a lighthearted contrast to the novel's more serious political themes.
   4. It represents Elisabeth's personal escape from the realities of the contemporary world.
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   B. It explores themes of visibility and invisibility, particularly for women artists, and how history is recorded or forgotten. Elisabeth's work on Pauline Boty highlights how certain voices and histories, especially those of women, can be overlooked or erased. It connects to the larger theme of 'making visible' what has been hidden, whether in art or in society's political narratives.

9. Question 9

   How does the novel portray the concept of 'hope' amidst the political turmoil and personal decline?

   1. It suggests that hope is entirely absent, given the bleak circumstances.
   2. Hope is presented as something found in connection, memory, art, and the potential for renewal, even in decay.
   3. Hope is solely embodied by the younger generation's political activism.
   4. The novel argues that hope is a delusion in times of crisis.
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   B. Hope is presented as something found in connection, memory, art, and the potential for renewal, even in decay. The book explicitly states 'Hope is hand in hand with hopelessness.' Despite the division and Daniel's declining health, hope is found in the enduring human connections, the power of art, the act of remembering, and the cyclical nature of seasons, suggesting renewal is always possible.

10. Question 10

    What narrative structure does Ali Smith employ that contributes to the novel's unique literary style?

    1. A strictly linear, chronological narrative following Elisabeth's daily life.
    2. A series of interconnected short stories, each from a different character's perspective.
    3. A fragmented, non-linear structure that weaves together past and present, dreams and reality, and various cultural references.
    4. An epistolary novel told through letters between Elisabeth and Daniel.
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    C. A fragmented, non-linear structure that weaves together past and present, dreams and reality, and various cultural references. Ali Smith is known for her experimental style. 'Autumn' employs a fragmented, non-linear narrative that jumps between Elisabeth's present, Daniel's memories (which often blend with his dreams), and various historical and artistic digressions, creating a rich tapestry of associations.