Reviews with content warning for Racism - Betrachtungen: Corona-Essays

"How to love. How to give. How to grow up. Laughter as a peace offering. Courage. (All intimations still in progress.)"

Raw, haunting, and understated yet devastating, this is a fascinating and brilliantly thought-provoking collection. It's dense and challenging at times, and parts of it definitely still went over my head despite consciously taking my time with it, but I still got so much out of it and was prompted to reflect on so many things, pandemic-related and otherwise. A truly powerful little gem of a book.

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havelock's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

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caitgatsby's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.0

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savvylit's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.0

Despite it's small size, Zadie Smith packs a plethora of timely observations into this collection. The wide range of topics covered includes self expression, isolation, competitive suffering, contempt, Smith's local acquaintances, classism, family dynamics, and systemic racism. Like many great essayists, Smith never moralizes on the pages of Intimations. She raises many questions and then leaves them to be mulled over by the reader. After reading Intimations, I know that I will be thinking about the questions Smith posed for a long while.

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youreawizardjerry's review against another edition

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challenging reflective fast-paced

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ukamushu_the_bibliophile's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of police brutality, death of George Floyd, racism

"They are very happy to 'blackout' their social media for a day, to read all-black books, and 'educate' themselves about black issues – as long as this education does not occur in the form of actual black children attending their actual schools."

"Intimations" by Zadie Smith is a small collection of short essays penned during the early months of lockdown. It is, without doubt, the single most eloquently-written reflective streams of consciousness I have ever read, paradox aside. Smith, possibly with mind exhausted from the overwhelming thoughts of finding something to do to fill time, does something I find quite funny: she shows why art like writing is so powerful and needed.

It's very fascinating to see someone's thoughts laid out so plainly in black and white. It's even more fascinating to see thoughts that mirror yours – so simply and powerfully. Writing, and art in general, do this to people. They do this to me. I love it when, even miles and lifetimes apart, people can find these little ways of connecting. Smith's writing is powerful for that. She doesn't attach moral weight to the experiences she narrates: they are presented as experiences. Her thoughts are hers, her reflections and interpretations are hers. In a way, that makes this book difficult to rate and review, so my rating and this review are EXTREMELY subjective. That being said, this read took my mind on a journey, back to the days of lockdown and all the loss and confusion and anger and helplessness and peace and self-discovery and reflection that I experienced.

The book reflects on the period encapsulated by the first six months of 2020, so the latter half of the book delves deeply into racial inequality and police brutality. Smith spat fire in these parts, criticizing America and all its self-righteousness. There are no words for how much I enjoyed devouring her words.

"Intimations" is a powerful book, concentrated with moving and insightful reflections on love, life, and on a global pandemic and the ways it shifted and exposed many things.

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