I'm very attracted to exile literature - particularly Nabokov - exactly because the idea of being away from home for any serious length of time is so inconceivable to me.
Zadie SmithDonโt romanticise your โvocationโ. You can either write good sentences or you canโt. There is no โwriterโs lifestyleโ. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
Zadie SmithI don't ask myself what did I live for, said Carlene strongly. That is a man's question. I ask whom did I live for.
Zadie SmithSome people--Samad for example--will tell you not to trust people who overuse the phrase "at the end of the day"--football managers, estate agents, salesmen of all kinds--but Archie's never felt that way about it. Prudent use of said phrase never failed to convince him that his interlocutor was getting to the bottom of things, to the fundamentals.
Zadie Smith