Changing my Mind: Occasional Essays, Zadie Smith 2009

A collection of non-fiction from one of Great Britain’s brightest young writers. From literary criticism (Barthes, Nabokov, Forester, Kafka, David Foster Wallace) to movie reviews (Date Movie, Brief Encounters, V is for Vendetta), to a touching personal story of her father’s war and post-war years, the writing is sharp, clear, and incisive.  A mention of a Major Elphustine (?) is nicely tied to Nabokov’s Lolita and Walter Benjamin makes a cameo, so what could be bad?  A great new essayist is discovered.