the spring

Author Name: Ali Smith

The novel takes place in Britain and revolves around two main characters across various stages of their lives: Richard Lees and Brittany Hall, crushed by the weight of modern life and the inhumane practices of those who control the fields of art and politics. Richard, a sixty-year-old theater director, has been single for over twenty years. His wife left him, carrying their child with her, and they have never seen each other again. His desperation drives him to attempt to throw himself under the wheels of a train. Brittany, on the other hand, is a security guard at a refugee detention center and experiences the daily contradiction between becoming a harsh and arrogant security guard to succeed in her job, and becoming a woman sensitive to life and the world. The two characters meet each other in a volatile narrative time and magical real-life events. "Spring" is a novel with a touch of mystery about global reality, with a poetic and whimsical style in its events and characters, similar to Ali Smith's previous works, "Autumn" and "Winter."