Description

A treasure trove of outstanding stories from ‘the best writer of our generation’ (Gary Shteyngart) – the perfect gift for the Zadie Smith fan in your life

‘She’s already one of our best novelists and essayists, this reminds us that her short stories are right up there too’ Observer

‘Sexy and hilarious. There is no moment in Grand Union when we are not entertained, or doubt that we are in the company of one of our best contemporary writers’ Guardian

‘Brilliant. Another slam dunk. Street life, patois, music, food, clothes, hair: Smith has her finger on the pulse of life and the utter weirdness of whatever has just become normal. This is a book of and for the times, sobering in its clarity but bracingly witty and clever’ Evening Standard

‘Smith’s dialogue crackles with mordant wit. This dazzling collection of stories will leave you with plenty to think about’ Independent

Interleaving ten completely new and unpublished stories with some of her best-loved pieces from the New Yorker and elsewhere, Zadie Smith presents a dizzyingly rich and varied collection of fiction. Moving exhilaratingly across genres and perspectives, from the historic to the vividly current to the slyly dystopian, Grand Union is a sharply alert and prescient collection about time and place, identity and rebirth, the persistent legacies that haunt our present selves and the uncanny futures that rush up to meet us.

Publisher Review

Tackles subjects including cancel culture, desire and race with Smith’s trademark insight and lightness of touch * Stylist * Smith offers sharp social commentary in this wry collection of stories that takes on the complications of the modern world * Psychologies * Tremendous comic writing and snappy dialogue * Literary Review * An exuberant volume that’s bracing, thoughtful and frequently very funny * Mail on Sunday * Grand Union seduces with language, acute observation, humour and the warmth of Smith’s humanity. It’s a startling, energising collection fom a writer unafraid to take risks * i * In these short stories she is miles and miles ahead, moving the finish line ever further as we are dazzled, knocked sideways by her craft . . . We see a master at work, exercising her vast talent with joy and vigour, reimagining old paradigms whilst maintaining the warmth and authenticity of her inimitable voice. For a writer who has seemingly done everything, it seems that Smith is just beginning * The Arts Desk * Each story is a new surprise of literary genius that takes the reader on a short journey away from reality . . . A must-read for literary lovers everywhere * Vanity Fair * Smith’s dialogue crackles with mordant wit . . . this dazzling collection of stories will leave you with plenty to think about. * Independent * this is a book of and for the times, sobering in its clarity but bracingly witty and clever * Evening Standard * The stories in Grand Union address both eternal existential queries and decidedly contemporary concerns. * FT * Bewitching * Publisher’s Weekly * She’s already one of our best novelists and essayists, this reminds us that her short stories are right up there too * Observer * Smart and bewitching, the modern world is refracted in ways that are both playful and rigorous, formally experimental and socially aware… Smith exercises her range without losing her wry, slightly cynical humour. Readers of all tastes will find something memorable in this collection * Publisher’s Weekly * Sexy and hilarious . . . There is no moment in Grand Union when we are not entertained,or doubt that we are in the company of one of our best contemporary writers. * Guardian * She’s a genius . . . It’s bliss — Dolly Alderton