Ali Smith's Seasonal Quartet

[thatonesmine]

I'm looking for opinions from anyone who's read the whole series, or just more than one. Currently devouring Autumn, I only downloaded it this afternoon and I'm almost halfway through, and I'm someone who usually only spends an hour or two a day reading. Amazon reviews of the other three are quite polarised and I'm trying to decide whether to add them to my wishlist for Christmas or just wait for them to turn up on kindle for 99p. Thoughts?

Autumn, Spring and Summer have all been Kindle deals at least once this year, and a lot of the same books come up repeatedly. I'm still waiting for Winter to be a deal but I've borrowed a copy from the library. It's a few years since I read Autumn when it first came out and I think I should reread it first though. (enjoyed at the time)

I've read the first three and loved them. Stick them on your Xmas list - physical copies are far nicer to read!

Absolutely loved the whole set - I liked winter the least (wasn't totally on board with some of the magic realism elements for this one) but thought spring and summer were fantastic - if you liked autumn so much then I'd definitely say it's worth reading them all!

Thanks all, I think they'll be going on the wishlist

Ali Smith is the most marmite writer ever.
I love marmite.
Have read the first two but have all of them on my shelf. I was saving the other two but now I’ve saved them too long, so I need to read the first two again before I read the last two! (then reread How to be Both again because that’s my favourite of her novels).

@Nuffaluff
This is my first taste of her writing and I can see why she divides opinions, I'm quite surprised by how much I'm enjoying it (I don't like marmite ). 50-odd pages to go and I don't want to finish it, not just because a sad outcome looks inevitable for a character I love, but also because I think anything I read next might seem a bit lacking.

I liked Autumn and Winter but Spring not so much.

@LikeACatInTheDark

I've read the first three and loved them. Stick them on your Xmas list - physical copies are far nicer to read!

Same!

I love the hard copies and will be buying Summer very soon. They are all quite different but really compelling to read

I agree that the physical copies are far better than kindle, these books are quite beautiful objects in their own right with the Hockney covers.

I've read all four, in order. Spring didn't seem to have much connection with the other three (yes, I know a minor character is related to someone in the others but it's not a major plot point). Having said that, I think it is worth reading and maybe just thinking of it as a standalone with a couple of "Easter eggs" in it, and the subject matter is quite thought-provoking. Winter was OK but I like Autumn and Summer most, and the central friendship in Autumn most of all.

I've read the whole set twice and find them really hard to remember because they are slightly strange.

I despise Ali Smith's writing. I really want to like it but I find it so bizarre and hard-going.

I love Ali Smith, but I must admit I didn't really enjoy this quartet. I really thought I'd love them, and they were the first of her books to come out when I knew her as a writer.

My favourite books of hers are Public library and How to be both. She's very talented.