INTIMATIONS: SIX ESSAYS

'Intimations: Six Essays' by the celebrated author Zadie Smith is our Wild Card read - a read for every book club.

As a short compilation of six essays Smith’s ‘Intimations’ provides a thought provoking and personal perspective on the early days of the pandemic. So short it’s definitely a +1 read for book clubs but one that will have you talking in new unexplored discussion about the creative process, the shared experiences of the pandemic and new found liberties of ‘locked up’ time.

Smith presents her ‘Intimations’ with artistic precision and gives this slim collection reams of book club discussion and pause for individual thought as well as a chance to get closer to the author. At 82 pages this could be read in one sitting - a truly slender read but bursting with rich writing.

Each essay takes the reader on a short philosophical journey be it downtown New York, an encounter at the bus stop or musings over youthfulness and its healthy optimism. The enticing artistic narrative is deliciously teased with tantalising essay titles ‘Suffering Like Mel Gibson’, ‘The American Exception’, ‘A Provocation in the Park’ - that draw you in to wonder where the story is heading. Expect to be surprised though. Whilst Smith presents her own personal and political 'intimations' her essays come from the heart presenting a raw vulnerability as a woman of colour, sharing her connections with the world and how she feels about recent events and the ‘virus’ within.

At a time when everyone can relate to people watching at the nail bar, the down and out cripple at the ATM, the funny memes in social media, Smith uses her well crafted tools to not be ‘preachy’, but rather share a window into her mind's eye that comes to life in this collection, using ‘the essay’ to provide a wonderful moment of reflection for self or sharing in your book club.

The essays also serve as a great reminder of the creative writer at work, even in dark times, as well as an excuse for us all to read her previous best selling classics such as 'White Teeth' and 'On Beauty'.

We all found something in this work to enjoy and share.