urgalro's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
readereaterr's review
4.0
I read “joy”. I think I prefer pleasure over joy too hmm. Need to rewatch inside out.
findyourgoldenhour's review
3.0
Some of these essays are 5 stars, some are only 2. I really liked the ones that felt universal, about motherhood or politics or Facebook. The ones about particular obscure works of art were kind of a slog. Overall a good collection.
cwalsh's review
5.0
Zadie Smith's Feel Free covers such a variety of topics (she covers everyone from Kierkegaard to Justin Beiber) that it's so hard to pick a favorite, however as a librarian and a lover of Joni Mitchell, I have to say that The North West London Blues and Some Notes on Attunement are huge stand outs for me. I've always found Zadie Smith's writing beautiful, but hearing her thoughts and criticisms on film, art, music, social interactions, and general cultural commentaries really just made me look at her in another dimension. It's amazing how she can sound extremely academic in tone but so accessible at the same time. In each and every work, regardless of the topic at hand, her intellect shines through.
PS: Zadie, you're never too old to discover More Songs About People and Food.
PS: Zadie, you're never too old to discover More Songs About People and Food.
jiyoung's review against another edition
3.0
Smith's biggest talent lies in her astute observations of humans and human interaction. I've always marveled at her ability to write inner monologues and the unspoken exchanges that occur between her characters. I nonetheless find her fiction quite hit or miss because she doesn't always manage to get the threads of a story to cohere together over the length of a novel. Conversely, her perceptiveness shines through quite well in non-fiction, as self-indulgent random musings about the nature of people are expected in the shorter essay format.
This book is structured into three loosely themed collections -- In the World (political and social commentary), In the Audience/In the Gallery/On the Bookshelf (film/art/literary criticism), and Feel Free (the self, human nature). Smith waxes poetic about anything that interests her (e.g., being biracial, creating art, motherhood, Justin Bieber, Brexit). Her prose is almost conversational, like having a smart friend talk to you about whatever has struck her fancy at a given moment. However, I found the classic British self-deprecation about her writing a little annoying because it struck me as pretty disingenuous (sorry, you can't be permanently surprised at your own success and come off as genuine, and no one feels bad that J.G. Ballard was bored by you as a 23 year old lol). Film/art/literary criticism was a huge chunk of this book, so some of the essays might not be as compelling unless you have also watched, seen, or read what Smith writes about.
This book is structured into three loosely themed collections -- In the World (political and social commentary), In the Audience/In the Gallery/On the Bookshelf (film/art/literary criticism), and Feel Free (the self, human nature). Smith waxes poetic about anything that interests her (e.g., being biracial, creating art, motherhood, Justin Bieber, Brexit). Her prose is almost conversational, like having a smart friend talk to you about whatever has struck her fancy at a given moment. However, I found the classic British self-deprecation about her writing a little annoying because it struck me as pretty disingenuous (sorry, you can't be permanently surprised at your own success and come off as genuine, and no one feels bad that J.G. Ballard was bored by you as a 23 year old lol). Film/art/literary criticism was a huge chunk of this book, so some of the essays might not be as compelling unless you have also watched, seen, or read what Smith writes about.
saraitz's review against another edition
2.0
maybe not the right time for me to read this. i will try again later
reidrussom's review
3.0
I wanted to like this one more than I did. When Smith is writing about politics or art, it's clear that she is one of the best culture writers we have. But there were a number of essays I couldn't get into, and I found myself skipping around the book.
carolinek1027's review against another edition
3.0
She has a way with words but like actual stories she tells are hit or miss for me. Just like her novels, her writing style itself does not resonate for me. I thought maybe I would prefer her essays but I think I just have to come to terms with the fact that she’s just not my favorite type of author. I don’t think she’s bad at all though or that these are bad essays.
miloulou's review against another edition
3.0
While there were some great pieces, I just personally lacked enough first hand knowledge of the many references made throughout the various essays. Unfortunately, the further I progressed, the more (to me) obscure it all got.
When I did understand though? Amazing. I’ll definitely check out the fiction works, and chalk up not being as impressed because I’m just not as knowledgeable about the world.
When I did understand though? Amazing. I’ll definitely check out the fiction works, and chalk up not being as impressed because I’m just not as knowledgeable about the world.