Year of the Monkey

Both mundane and magical … Moves constantly between reverie and memory … Portents and symbols lurk in unexpected places, and everyday objects become freighted with meaning … A reflection both on mortality and of the times in which Smith finds herself, but rich in detail * Guardian *
A gripping tale of the search for meaning in times of turbulence - expressed with Smith’s signature poetic flair * Vogue *
A moving account of the emotional stumbles, physical and intellectual wanderings and deep losses Smith experienced in her 70th year * Independent *
Some rock stars shut themselves away from life, but Smith’s engagement with the world only deepens, as this dreamy memoir shows * Daily Telegraph *
Extraordinary … A tense, teasing mix of reality and dream … It’s a drifter’s book, in time, space and the imagination * Sunday Times *
A picaresque voyage through her dreams and life as she faced 70, dealing with flashes of “sorrow’s vertigo” as she remembers all the loves and rock contemporaries who are gone, with a kaleidoscope of references from “Mr. Robot” to Marcus Aurelius to Martin Beck mysteries to Maria Callas’s Medea -- Maureen Dowd * International New York Times *
A profoundly beautiful book, poetic in its prose and metaphysical in its meaning, it’s quite a stunning read * Financial Times *
The narrating voice is the voice of Smith's music, twisting between the incantations of a priestess and laconic poetry … There is plenty of wonderful in this small, sly, mystic book * Spectator *
A beatnik Alice in Wonderland, measured out in black coffee and Polaroids, it’s full of quiet puzzles, small epiphanies, more little clues how to live * Q Magazine *
Arresting … Diverting and often unexpected, fresh and diverting * Literary Review *
A profoundly lyrical, digressive mapping of her fame-and-family decades … This third memoir finds Smith unhomed, at times almost unhinged, as she does her utmost to ward off those Beaten Generation blues * Mojo *
Elegiac … A strikingly intimate portrait of a woman growing older and missing those who are no longer with us but remaining wide awake to the world and hopeful for its future * Sunday Express *
A melancholy mood and poetic language distinguish Smith’s third memoir * BBC *
Poet and performer Smith’s latest memoir zooms in tight ... Her willingness to look closely at life’s closing chapters makes for a magical book * Washington Post, 'The 10 books to read in September' *
Lovely ... a slim volume [with a] minor-key melancholy * Entertainment Weekly *
Patti Smith’s brilliant new memoir about love, loss and growing older … I’m already captivated by her poetic prose * Daily Mirror *
Smith’s grace and erudite philosophy is a welcome balm in these times * Town & Country *
Smith’s reflections on a wrenching yet grace-filled year are elegiac, vital, and magical. … Smith’s large, loyal following will seek out this spellbinding memoir, just as they embraced Just Kids (2010) and M Train (2015) * Booklist *
Luminous ... Smith casts a mesmerizing spell with exquisite prose * Publishers Weekly *
This is the modern-day Patti Smith: older, wiser, seeing the world, and reporting it all back to us in only the way she can. You can’t read this and not feel inspired after you put it down * Inside Hook *
An incantatory, ambulatory travelogue * New Statesman *
Captivating ... Redemptive * Kirkus *
She weaves the threads of her thoughts and past relationships together, creating a dreamy memoir on the passage of time and our changing world * Wanderlust *
One of the great diarists of her, or any other time, with an exquisite voice which manages to somehow transform even the most ordinary event into something otherworldly … An enchanting hitchhike through 2016 … Every occurrence sears into the reader’s psyche in vivid detail … Time spent in the company of Patti is always a pleasure * Classic Pop *
A rock-star prophetess … Meditative, messy, poignant, deeply personal, allusive, occasionally bombastic and, crucially, still defiant, Year of the Monkey is a mercurial fusion of the mundane and visionary that only an unconquerable spirit like Patti Smith could write * Herald *
She can find artistic endeavour in the mundane; or bone-deep comfort in a cup of black coffee and a cinnamon doughnut … Incredibly moving … As much a glimpse of a troubled year in Patti’s life, as a portal into our own * Record Collector *