The Autograph Man - Tapa dura

One feels for Zadie Smith. She's had a reasonably well publicised case of writer's block and has wearied of the media treadmill that followed the success of her first novel, White Teeth. Her experiences of fame have clearly influenced her new novel which in part deals with the twin-headed beast of celebrity and recognition. Alex-Li Tandem collects and sells autographs. Sometimes the ones he sells are fake, "all to give the people what they want - a little piece of fame". The novel sounds distinctly autobiographical. No one knows better than Smith what a hollow world 'celebrity' occupies. This novel will doubtless puncture it with the same sharpness and panache that marked her famous debut.

The eagerly-awaited follow-up to the bestselling and prize-winning White Teeth, which established Zadie Smith as an outstanding new writer. Alex-Li Tandem sells autographs. A small blip in a huge worldwide network of desire, it is his business to hunt for names on paper, collect them, sell them, occasionally fake them, and all to give the people what they want: a little piece of Fame. The Autograph Man is a deeply funny, existential tour around the hollow things of modernity - celebrity, cinema, and the ugly triumph of symbol over experience. Pushing against the tide of his generation, Alex-Li is on his way to finding enlightenment, otherwise known as some part of himself that cannot be signed, celebrated or sold.