Before diving into the book, there’s a long-overdue real-life catch-up, Hannah shares details of her trip to London to celebrate her dad’s 80th birthday (and an unexpected crush), and Nikki recounts a work event involving fire alarms and some questionable emergency priorities.
In This Episode
- What makes a collection of essays work – and whether Feel Free works as a cohesive book
- The challenges and pleasures of reading essays compared to reading novels
- Whether “freedom” is a sufficiently strong theme to unite the collection
- Zadie Smith’s unique perspective, shaped by experiences across class, culture and academia
- Whether these essays belong in a book or are better suited to newspapers and magazines
Essays Discussed
North West London Blues
- The demolition of Willesden Green Library and the loss of communal spaces
- Libraries, local identity and civic responsibility
- Public funding, austerity and community engagement
Fences: A Brexit Diary
- Smith’s immediate response to the 2016 Brexit referendum
- The fence as a metaphor for division, isolation and polarisation
- Echo chambers, privilege, responsibility and the consequences of democratic choice
The Bathroom
- Class, culture and family life through the lens of a childhood bathroom
- Social mobility, nostalgia and identity
- Parenting, expectations and the “retrospective swirl”
Joy
- The distinction between pleasure and joy
- Whether joy requires vulnerability, risk and uncertainty
- How we cultivate joy in our own lives
- The relationship between joy, privilege and freedom
Next Time
We’ll be discussing our current reads and revealing our next buddy read.
