Intimations

Six Essays

By: Zadie Smith

Narrated by: Zadie Smith

The New York Times Bestseller

“[Smith’s] slim collection of essays captures this peculiar moment with startling clarity. . . . The personal and political intermingle for a powerful indictment of America’s social systems.” —TIME

“While quarantined amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Smith penned six dazzling, trenchant essays burrowing deep into our contemporary culture of disease and upheaval and reflecting on what was ‘once necessary’ that now ‘appears inessential’.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Smith does more than illuminate what we're going through right now. She offers a model of how to think ourselves through a fraught historical moment without getting hysterical or sanctimonious, without losing our compassion or our appreciation for what's good in other people. She teaches us how to be better at being human.” —John Powers, Fresh Air

Deeply personal and powerfully moving, a short and timely series of reflective essays by one of the most clear-sighted and essential writers of our time.

Written during the early months of lockdown, Intimations explores ideas and questions prompted by an unprecedented situation. What does it mean to submit to a new reality--or to resist it? How do we compare relative sufferings? What is the relationship between time and work? In our isolation, what do other people mean to us? How do we think about them? What is the ratio of contempt to compassion in a crisis? When an unfamiliar world arrives, what does it reveal about the world that came before it?

Suffused with a profound intimacy and tenderness in response to these extraordinary times, Intimations is a slim, suggestive volume with a wide scope, in which Zadie Smith clears a generous space for thought, open enough for each reader to reflect on what has happened--and what should come next.

The author will donate her royalties from the sale of Intimations to charity.

awesome jewel

this was a wonderful listen. great stories with poignant subject matter. kept me engaged

Lucid yet contemplative

The captivating prose brings out our own thoughts strewn nicely with a thread of uplifting art of reading. This is one such book which would be less stimulating without the magical renderence of the endearing voice of Zadie.

An eye-opener for me into our inequitable systems

Narrated by the author's own lovely voice, I listened to it completely in a day. The author offered an incredibly unique and insightful perspective into the issues exploding before us this very day. The issues of racism and inequality amplified many times over by the pandemic and how our country's structures have been incapable of dealing with it and in fact have exacerbated its impact and led to many unnecessary deaths. As an older white male these essays were eye-popping to me.

Listening to Zadie Smith

love that it was in the authors voice. I love that Smith acted out the dialogue.

Read this book

Beautiful, clever, thought provoking, funny, convicting, tender. Less than 2 hours of time but I know I’ll be thinking about it for weeks.