5/22/2023 0 Comments Intimations zadie smith review![]() ![]() ![]() It’s satisfying to hear her diagnose the British ruling class’s initial obsession with reaching herd immunity, which she translates this way: “Immunity. When you catch the British strain, you believe the people are there to be ruled.” Smith has always been great on her homeland, her finest novels-the raucous White Teeth, the Forster homage On Beauty, the superb comedy of manners NW-a withering but affectionate look at Britishness, whatever that might be. “This is an especially British strain of the virus,” she writes. ![]() She riffs on the curious case of the United Kingdom’s Dominic Cummings, who ignored the rules his own government had established to take a road trip for his wife’s birthday. It’s an echo of the reader’s internal monologue, the stuff you probably already think bouncing back at you, improved by Smith’s prose. ![]() It’s a relief that punchy turns of phrase and scathing oversimplification-the dominant modes of most contemporary chatter-are not of interest to Smith. But clarity or fresh insight on a still-unfolding catastrophe is a tall order. I understand why editors at our leading magazines would turn to our most gifted artists to weigh in on everything that’s happening. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |