Essays released in the 'new normal' that help make some sense of the changing world

The sudden onset of the Coronavirus pandemic took everyone across the world by surprise. We live in an ever-changing society and unprecedented times, which brings its own struggles in our everyday lives. To help make some sense of the modern world, here we list down some essay collections that released in the 'new normal' which offer some wisdom and solace.

Photo: Canva

Zadie Smith's 'Intimations' released in July 2020, when the world was undergoing a lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In this short collection, Smith writes essays on one of the strangest years many of us ever experienced.

Photo: Penguin

Released in August 2020, 'How to Stay Sane' by Elif Shafak is a powerful read. Drawing from her own personal memories, in this book, Shafak writes about the power of stories and how they can bring us together. She also reveals how listening to each other nurtures empathy and democracy leading us to a kinder future.

Photo: Wellcome Collection

In 'Voices of Dissent', one of India's most popular public intellectuals Romila Thapar sheds light on a long history and articulation of dissent in the Indian subcontinent. The book is an essential read if you would like to understand not only India's past but also the direction in which our society is headed.

Photo: Seagull Books

In 'A Swim in a Pond in the Rain', Booker Prize winner George Saunders writes about what makes great stories so successful with readers and what they tell us about ourselves and our ever-changing world today.

Photo: Bloomsbury Publishing

Released in May 2021, 'The Spirit of Enquiry' is Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016-winner and Carnatic tradition vocalist TM Krishna's new collection of key writings. The book is divided into five sections, namely: art and artistes; the nation state; the theatre of secularism; savage inequalities; and in memoriam, according to the book's blurb.

Photo: Penguin

‘The Anthropocene Reviewed’ is John Green's first non-fiction book which is based on his popular podcast of the same name. Anthropocene is a name for our geologic age. In this series of essays, Green takes some aspects of humanity and reviews them on a scale of one to five.

Photo: Ebury Press

Salman Rushdie's 'Languages of Truth' is a new collection of essays, criticism, and speeches written during 2003-2020. And though the pieces are written pre-pandemic, they give a perspective of how the world changed in the recent past.

Photo: Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Released in May 2021, 'Notes on Grief' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a daughter's tribute to her late father. Adichie lost her father in a sudden turn of events in 2020. In this book, she remembers him as she grieves her irreparable loss. Many people lost their near and dear ones during the Coronavirus pandemic and though grief is a very personal experience, some readers might find solace and reliability in Adichie's words.

Photo: Fourth Estate

In this collection of essays, writer-activist Arundhati Roy makes the readers reflect on the true meaning of freedom in a world which is leaning towards authoritarianism. "The pandemic, Roy says, is a portal between one world and another. For all the illness and devastation it has left in its wake, it is an invitation to the human race, an opportunity to imagine another world," reads the book's blurb.

Photo: Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Released in January 2021, Andre Aciman's 'Homo Irrealis' is a collection of thoughts about time, great artists, writers and creative minds, and notable works. The book "is a deep reflection of the imagination's power to shape our memories under time's seemingly intractable hold," according to its blurb.

Photo: Faber & Faber

'Things Are Against Us' is Booker 2019 nominee Lucy Ellman's new collection of essays which was released in July 2021. From matriarchy to present-day environmental and climate crisis to Donald Trump's chaotic rule in the United States-- Ellmann shares her sharp opinions on various topics in this book.

Photo: Picador India