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Peter Boyle's Reviews > Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays
Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays
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This book contains a collection of essays from the supremely talented Zadie Smith. In a wide-ranging assortment, she expounds upon subjects such as literature, movies and family, all with razor-sharp insight and typical eloquence.
I have to say I liked the literary criticism least of all. I found the pieces on E.M. Forster and Kafka hard to get through. Maybe I don't know enough about these authors to begin with, but too often it felt like Smith was just trying to show off the contents of her admittedly large brain. And the essay on David Foster Wallace felt interminable, going round in circles with no real focus.
I was amused by the film reviews, which were much lighter in tone and quite witty (her analysis of 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Trying made me laugh out loud). There is also a strong article on a visit Smith made to Liberia, which brings the country's struggles to light in a stark fashion. But the essays I loved most were the ones about Smith's own family - a wonderful piece about bonding with her father through comedy was the collection's stand-out for me. Overall, the book felt like a conversation with a most intelligent friend - some of the stuff they blather about goes completely over your head, but then they say something so heartfelt, or perceptive, or funny, and you remember why you love being in their company.
I have to say I liked the literary criticism least of all. I found the pieces on E.M. Forster and Kafka hard to get through. Maybe I don't know enough about these authors to begin with, but too often it felt like Smith was just trying to show off the contents of her admittedly large brain. And the essay on David Foster Wallace felt interminable, going round in circles with no real focus.
I was amused by the film reviews, which were much lighter in tone and quite witty (her analysis of 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Trying made me laugh out loud). There is also a strong article on a visit Smith made to Liberia, which brings the country's struggles to light in a stark fashion. But the essays I loved most were the ones about Smith's own family - a wonderful piece about bonding with her father through comedy was the collection's stand-out for me. Overall, the book felt like a conversation with a most intelligent friend - some of the stuff they blather about goes completely over your head, but then they say something so heartfelt, or perceptive, or funny, and you remember why you love being in their company.
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Reading Progress
June 1, 2020
–
Started Reading
June 1, 2020
– Shelved
June 8, 2020
– Shelved as:
non-fiction
June 8, 2020
–
Finished Reading
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CanadianReader
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Jun 08, 2020 06:57AM
Enjoyed your review! Laughed at your take on her lit crit. Hard for anyone to make that interesting and, I’m afraid, all too often it’s showing off no matter who writes it.
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Canadian wrote: "Enjoyed your review! Laughed at your take on her lit crit. Hard for anyone to make that interesting and, I’m afraid, all too often it’s showing off no matter who writes it."Thanks, CR! The literature essays are at the start of the book and I was almost ready to abandon ship. Maybe you need a degree in English to appreciate them - they went way over my head anyway :-)
I'm glad I persisted though, the pieces about Smith's own family were great.
I can assure you that even a degree in English is no guarantee a person will enjoy literary criticism! Good to hear persistence paid off in this case.
