Most of the stories in Grand Union by Zadie Smith (Swing Time; NW) are not for the faint of heart or those who fear the United States' changing racial demographics. Presenting individuals and relationships in various stages of disarray, Smith's stories tackle ethnic, socio-economic and political divisions in the Western world through the eyes of those on the margins of society. Her characters struggle with isolation, broken dreams and low-paying jobs in gritty New York, while others lead tattered lives in an abandoned England where "the only people left are those who couldn't leave."
There's a drag queen searching not only for the right corset but also for respect and acceptance in "Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets," and in "Mood," Zenobia is a philosophy major staggering under the weight of her student loans. In the profoundly gorgeous "Words and Music," a lonely woman inherits a valuable house on Washington Square from her sister and realizes too late that music was a language that could have united them during years of estrangement.
The devastating outcome of "Kelso Deconstructed" haunts Grand Union, underscoring as it does the societal prejudices that can sabotage an immigrant's ability to succeed. For Kelso, a hardworking man of good character from Antigua, no amount of ambition or self-improvement can erase the reality of his dark complexion and the racial injustices of life in pre-gentrified Notting Hill.
Smith's legendary descriptive powers provide a first-rate sensory experience in a collection that combines fresh new pieces with recent classics featured in the New Yorker and elsewhere. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer