ZADIE SMITH
u003cbu003eu003cbu003eu003cbu003eu003cbu003eu003cbu003eWinner of the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism u003c/bu003eu003c/bu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eA u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e Notable Booku003cbru003eu003cbru003eFrom Zadie Smith, one of the most beloved authors of her generation, a new collection of essays u003c/bu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eSince she burst spectacularly into view with her debut novel almost two decades ago, Zadie Smith has established herself not just as one of the world's preeminent fiction writers, but also a brilliant and singular essayist. She contributes regularly to u003ciu003eThe New Yorker u003c/iu003eand the u003ciu003eNew York Review of Booksu003c/iu003e on a range of subjects, and each piece of hers is a literary event in its own right.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eArranged into five sections--In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free--this new collection poses questions we immediately recognize. What is The Social Network--and Facebook itself--really about? "It's a cruel portrait of us: 500 million sentient people entrapped in the recent careless thoughts of a Harvard sophomore." Why do we love libraries? "Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay." What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming? "So I might say to her, look: the thing you have to appreciate is that we'd just been through a century of relativism and deconstruction, in which we were informed that most of our fondest-held principles were either uncertain or simple wishful thinking, and in many areas of our lives we had already been asked to accept that nothing is essential and everything changes--and this had taken the fight out of us somewhat."u003cbru003eu003cbru003eGathering in one place for the first time previously unpublished work, as well as already classic essays, such as, "Joy," and, "Find Your Beach," u003ciu003eFeel Free u003c/iu003eoffers a survey of important recent events in culture and politics, as well as Smith's own life. Equally at home in the world of good books and bad politics, Brooklyn-born rappers and the work of Swiss novelists, she is by turns wry, heartfelt, indignant, and incisive--and never any less than perfect company. This is literary journalism at its zenith.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eZadie Smith's new book, u003ciu003eGrand Unionu003c/iu003e, is on sale 10/8/2019.
