Summary

Smith’s fifth essay in this collection is called “Screengrabs” and consists of several short essays which provide a glimpse into a moment of the author’s life during the pandemic. In “A Man With Strong Hands,” Smith describes the dodgy nail salon where she goes several times a month to be massaged by a Chinese masseur named Ben. She writes that Ben’s limited English and her limited patience have led to a mutually suitable arrangement whereby they exchange limited pleasantries, and both are content with each other’s silence as Ben works. She finds symmetries between her own life and Ben’s in that they both have children and both worry about their children’s school and pastimes, yet Smith also notes that Ben runs a busy nail salon upon which he depends entirely, his entire livelihood resting on the desires of...