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.
abauer's review against another edition
4.0
"The time has long past when only one community's work would be required to cure what ails us."
Intimations is a product a quarantine, a series of short essays with profound musings and insightful vignettes. Zadie Smith packs a lot of depth into this slim volume, so be prepared to think and reflect.
Intimations is a product a quarantine, a series of short essays with profound musings and insightful vignettes. Zadie Smith packs a lot of depth into this slim volume, so be prepared to think and reflect.
ssndyvl's review against another edition
3.0
It’s a short book but only a couple of essays really got my attention. These are deeply personal essays indeed, so reading them felt like going through someone’s diary. There are times when I couldn’t grasp her thought process though, and I had to re-read again. Nevertheless, worth a skim.
melisacabelloc's review against another edition
4.0
I hate all forms of literary and fictional media surrounding 2020. Except for this.
jeahohh's review against another edition
4.0
I especially liked the part where she included “contingencies” in her thank you notes.
ryuhu_reads's review against another edition
5.0
beautiful, beautiful ruminations. Smith is wise, observant and respectful to the world around her. An absolute pleasure of a read.