Zadie Smith - Martha and Hanwell

Two stories, "Martha, Martha" and "Hanwell in Hell", both originally published in literary mags (Granta and The New Yorker respectively), and both very English indeed in that 'hanging on in quiet desperation' sort of way. I don't think they quite work - Smith's strength is in polyglot exuberance and energy, not this comparatively joyless, drab, small-moments-of-partial-redemption-and-barely-so-at-that style. But not a dead loss, either, and far be it from me to complain simply because her attempts to stretch herself aren't 100% successful at this stage.