A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to be friends when everyone's 18. Zadie Smith complicateeasyfeel Change image and share on social
When a human being becomes a set of data on a website like Facebook, he or she is reduced. Everything shrinks. Individual character. Friendships. Language. Sensibility. Zadie Smith characterdatumfacebook Change image and share on social
I recognize myself to be an intensely naive person. Most novelists are, despite frequent pretensions to deep socio-political insight. Zadie Smith deepfrequentinsight Change image and share on social
Normally, young writers have all the time in the world and they don't always use it well. Zadie Smith timeworldwriter Change image and share on social
Asking why rappers always talk about their stuff is like asking why Milton is forever listing the attributes of heavenly armies. Because boasting is a formal condition of the epic form. And those taught that they deserve nothing rightly enjoy it when they succeed in terms the culture understands. Zadie Smith armyattributeboast share on social
It seems to me that we often commit ourselves wholly to something while knowing almost nothing concrete about it. Another word for that, I suppose, is 'faith.' Zadie Smith commitconcretefaith Change image and share on social
There is a kind of desperate need for somebody to tell everyone what to do, which I find really peculiar in America. And then when you tell them, they're not interested, because it's also a country where everybody's opinion is their opinion, and they really don't give a damn what you think. So it's a very odd experience. Zadie Smith americacountrydamn share on social
I like books that expose me to people unlike me and books that do battle against caricature or simplification. That, to me, is the heroic in fiction. Zadie Smith battlebookcaricature Change image and share on social
You become a different writer when you approach a short story. When things are not always having to represent other things, you find real human beings begin to cautiously appear on your pages. Zadie Smith approachbeginbeing Change image and share on social
You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality. Zadie Smith differenceequalitysameness Change image and share on social