by Zadie Smith
First published 2025
Smith turns her essayist's eye to the cultural moments that have shaped recent years. She examines the work of visual artists Toyin Ojih Odutola, Kara Walker, and Celia Paul. She reflects on cinema through Tár and music through Stormzy's Glastonbury performance. The collection takes readers through her North West London neighborhood along Kilburn High Road. Smith mourns the deaths of literary giants Joan Didion, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth, and Toni Morrison. She analyzes political shifts in Britain and America while exploring what "the commons" means in contemporary life. The essays demonstrate Smith's capacity to examine urgent cultural questions with both critical insight and human compassion.
Genres: essays, literary-criticism, contemporary, biography-memoir, art-history, cultural-studies
Vibes: compassionate, elegiac, intimate, reflective, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-commentary, memorial-reflection, personal-essay
Setting: North West London, Kilburn High Road, Britain, America, Glastonbury
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
368 pages · Paperback · Hamish Hamilton
Content warnings: death