(#partner @penguinpress) • I was very lucky to receive an advanced copy of Zadie Smith’s new short story collection, Grand Union. This is the first collection I read for #storyseptember. I really like Zadie Smith in short form! Prior to this one, I’ve only read her novel Swing Time, and it was fine but not a favorite of mine. This one definitely made me more excited to check out some of her other work.

My favorite stories were:
• Sentimental Education, about a girl and her college boyfriend who brings his best friend along to college
• The Lazy River, about British families vacationing in Spain, that is an almost too spot on metaphor for life as we know it with social media
• Escape from New York, which made me really want a post-apocalyptic novel from Smith
• Meet the President!, which made me really want a sci-fi novel from Smith
• The Canker, which made me really want a fantasy novel from Smith

Basically, I loved all of the stories where Smith branched out in genre. She’s such a great writer, it seems that she does so with ease.

This book has sooo many stories in it! There are 19! For me, the large number of stories did make the collection feel a little bit disparate, but for the most part this is an extremely solid collection. If you’re a Zadie Smith fan or looking to branch into her work, I’d recommend it!