A.J. SEFTON
  • Home
  • Books
  • About
    • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Books
  • About
    • FAQ
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

3/10/2019 0 Comments

Grand Union by Zadie Smith

Picture
A collection of short stories by one of Britain's most successful authors. This very talented writer gives a selection of tales that cover a whole range of topics but all have Smith's powerful and creative use of language and ideas.

There are nineteen stories that vary in theme, from dystopia to classic classroom teacher-style to social class, racism and general bigotry. There is humour and wisdom throughout. Particular favourites are The Lazy River, which tells of the typical British tourist staying at an all-inclusive Spanish holiday resort. The Dialectic is about a single mother of four on holiday in Sopot, who says that she would like to be on good terms with animals while eating a chicken wing. Miss Adele Among the Corsets concerns a retiring drag queen and looks at different aspects of prejudice. The best story is Sentimental Education where a woman reflects on her time at university as one of two people of colour. Some of the ideas here really made me think!

The book has no general theme to tie the stories together other than excellent writing, but is observational and thought-provoking. Not as good as Smith's novels but the fertile imagination is alive and well. 

​ajsefton.com/book-reviews
Published by Penguin Books on 3 October 2019.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    What I'm Reading
    Book Index

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Books of the Month
    Picture
    Picture

    Best Selling Psychological Fiction
    Picture

    Reviews by Year of Publication

    All 1844 1866 1889 1897 1932 1935 1942 1946 1950 1951 1953 1954 1960 1962 1969 1971 1974 1977 1978 1983 1984 1985 1989 1991 1994 1995 1996 1997 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Join the Readers Club and be the first to read Jay's next book!

Join now!
Growing in Damp Places by A.J. Sefton

Picture
RevolverMap
Sitemap
© Copyright 2012-2022 A.J. Sefton
   ​Privacy Policy
web hit counter