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dreamreader's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A very good collection of essays. Some of them moved me more than others. Some of them were well written but didn't say anything particularly new. I enjoyed reading the collection as a whole. My favorites were "Peonies," "Suffering Like Mel Gibson," and "Intimations."
emmabeckman's review against another edition
5.0
Ahh I love Zadie Smith. My favorite in this collection was Something to Do. In general, I thought these essays did an excellent job of putting thoughts that I've had in this crisis so far into intellectual-sounding words.
samsundaram's review against another edition
4.0
A little on the academic side, but aside from that really appreciated this collection of essays from the early pandemic days. Smith captured both societal failures and individual concerns (to put both lightly) related to ~Life During the Coronavirus.~
“Even as we do something, we simultaneously accuse ourselves: you use this [banana bread making/winning Minecraft/instagramming food] as only another occasion for self-improvement, another pointless act of self-realization.” -p. 23
“Even as we do something, we simultaneously accuse ourselves: you use this [banana bread making/winning Minecraft/instagramming food] as only another occasion for self-improvement, another pointless act of self-realization.” -p. 23
muryunn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
leseine's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the commentary and liked some of the essays especially the ones about being an artist and misery. Good foray into zadie smith
sunbirder's review against another edition
2.0
It’s nice, but too American for my taste. Not everything revolves around that country and the experiences that people go through in that place. We get it. U.S. is morally decaying faster than any other country in the world.
The book revolves around the pandemic, so it all feels like endless rambling to me. It’s just that I can’t bring myself enough to care about the life of the writer in a cozy apartment rambling about being a writer in the time of the pandemic. There are far more interesting things and perspectives that I’d rather read up on.
The book revolves around the pandemic, so it all feels like endless rambling to me. It’s just that I can’t bring myself enough to care about the life of the writer in a cozy apartment rambling about being a writer in the time of the pandemic. There are far more interesting things and perspectives that I’d rather read up on.
cwalsh's review against another edition
3.0
“I used to think that there would one day be a vaccine: that if enough black people named the virus, explained it, demonstrated how it operates, videoed its effects, protested it peacefully, revealed how widespread it really is, how the symptoms arise, how so many Americans keep giving it to each other, irresponsibly and shamefully, generation after generation, causing intolerable and unending damage both to individual bodies and to the body politic—I thought if that knowledge became as widespread as could possibly be managed or imagined that we might finally reach some kind of herd immunity. I don’t think that anymore.”
"Contempt as a Virus" was definitely the stand out of this collection, but as always, Zadie Smith's comments on race, time, and privilege never fail to spark some much needed introspection.
"Contempt as a Virus" was definitely the stand out of this collection, but as always, Zadie Smith's comments on race, time, and privilege never fail to spark some much needed introspection.
kabornman's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I guess I expected more, but I do have the luxury of 4 years of space from the events of 2020. It feels like she missed the mark on some things, didn’t fully flesh out others, and made too obvious of comparisons. But again, I tried to keep in mind that she was writing in the middle of those “unprecedented times” - although perhaps the writing would have been better served to wait on publication.
I did read “the rich people have gone away” by Regina Porter right before this, so it was interesting to see Zadie Smith, as a person, kind of straddling the line Porter had set up.
I was pretty disenchanted right away with “Suffering Like Mel Gibson.” Smith compared the suffering of people isolating in different situations, but didn’t once talk about the people actually sick and dying from COVID - like the whole point of everything that was happening.
I have more thoughts, but overall I don’t plan to read again and the scenarios in which I would recommend this to someone else would be limited
I did read “the rich people have gone away” by Regina Porter right before this, so it was interesting to see Zadie Smith, as a person, kind of straddling the line Porter had set up.
I was pretty disenchanted right away with “Suffering Like Mel Gibson.” Smith compared the suffering of people isolating in different situations, but didn’t once talk about the people actually sick and dying from COVID - like the whole point of everything that was happening.
I have more thoughts, but overall I don’t plan to read again and the scenarios in which I would recommend this to someone else would be limited