About this title: Alex-li Tandem, whose mother is Chinese and father (who died young) was Jewish, collects the autographs of celebrities. He has a massive crush on an aging movie star named Kitty Alexander, and in the course of searching for her autograph he encounters adventures that include the mammoth Autographicana Fair in New York. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Inc
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375501869ISBN:037550186X
Description: Good in Good jacket. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall; Type: Ex Library cover and pages clean. binding secure. dust jacket clean, ex library insignia. read more
Binding: Perfect Bound Paper
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780965546256ISBN:096554625X
Description: Very Good + to Near Fine. No Jacket as Issued. Trade Paperback. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Excellent shape, no remainder marks. Little wear. Binding tight, pages clean though old store price penciled on FEP. (Store Display-Gen Fic) read more
Description: Good. 037550186X Library copy with mylar cover and library markings. Great service. Fast shipping. Saving trees 1 page at a time! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2002-10-01
ISBN-13:9780375501869ISBN:037550186X
Description: Fine. 037550186X Thanks for looking at bookhaven1. these books may have shelf wear and remainder mark. hardcover books may have missing or torn Dust Jackets. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375501869ISBN:037550186X
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780375703874ISBN:037570387X
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Previous owners name inscribed inside front. -, Trade PaperBack, Very Good / read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375501869ISBN:037550186X
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. A former library book with the usual identifiers in a protective glossy dust jacket covering. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375501869ISBN:037550186X
Description: Good in Good jacket. 143-X-Add Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] [ Torn pages: NO ] [ Broken Seams: NO ] Publisher: Random House Pub Date: 10/1/2002 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 368. read more
"Yuck! Did not like! I am so disappointed, because I really loved White Teeth and On Beauty. I guess this book has some things in common with those, but none of the magic. It started out wonderfully, but quickly went downhill after the prologue. The characters are loathsome, the plot dull and annoying. Despite the title, I didn't really expect this to be *so* much about autograph collecting and old film stars. I can't really think of a topic more boring to me. Oh wait, maybe drug-addled kabbalah disucssions. I don't really know why I kept reading this to the end. Intertia I guess."
"I enjoyed this book for one very simple reason - the middling middle class adolescent adult who lives on the periphery of fame, whose life as a late 20s adult hasn't changed much since he was a teen. I avoided reading the reviews of this book as it seems that's the very reason most people dislike the book. Too predictable. I happen to think it's a very real experience for many Gen-Xers.
And kudos to Smith for presenting a multicultural cast of characters who defy and play with stereotypes."
"Alex-Li Tandem wakes up one morning to find that he owns something he's been obsessed with for years: the autograph of 50's film icon Kitty Alexander. If he hadn't been on some unusually potent drugs the night before, he'd swear his dreams had come true. As it is, most of his friends figure he's finally snapped and forged the priceless memento himself. So begins "The Autograph Man", Zadie Smith's followup to her blockbuster first novel "White Teeth".
Smith is a fan of classic British comedy, and she's at her best with scenes filled with eccentric characters who don't notice how crazily they're acting. In one such, Alex runs into his obnoxious friend Rabbi Rubinfine helping two other rabbis load a Georgian bookcase into the trunk of a subcompact car. Rubinfine wants to pontificate about Alex's spiritual problems; he also needs help with the bookcase. It's funny to start off with, but becomes even better as the rabbis argue the fine points of Rubinfine's lecture and practically beg Alex to sell them Bette Davis' autograph.
There's a serious theme here as well; Alex-Li, half Chinese and half Jewish, feels alienated from both cultures, and especially from the memory of his father, for whom he still can't bring himself to say Kaddish (the Jewish mourner's prayer). The autograph he longs for is a symbol of his whole conflicted situation-- an authentic signature by a fake Hollywood persona.
At times, though, Smith gets distracted by her own verbal cleverness. Things get classified as Jewish (chocolate, John Lennon) and Goyish (mocha lattes, Harrison Ford). Physical mannerisms become "International Gestures", complete with spotter's guide entries: "the throwing back of head, the slight indent of front teeth on lower lip, the making of the sound 'pfui'." It is clever to start off with, but too much of it makes the middle third of the book drag.
"Autograph Man" isn't as vibrant as "White Teeth" was, perhaps because Alex and his slacker friends can't work up much suspense. But it's certainly not bad-- most of the time it's amusing, and it earns its way towards a satisfying conclusion that offers the possibility of redemption without wrapping things up too neatly. Like a proper Jewish god, Smith shows her characters both justice and mercy, putting their faults on display, but managing to keep them likeable anyway. Readers should do the same: "Autograph Man" has obvious flaws, but it's still easy to enjoy. (Review by M.E)"
"One of those books that I imagine as more appealing to 20-somethings who appreciate the undeniably clever writing and are less put off than I am by the main characters' frequent & casual overindulgence in alcohol & drugs. Moreover, the author seems to express a certain superior attitude toward the suburban lives of her characters; there's not much empathy."
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