Jerome said, It's like, a family doesn't work anymore when everyone in it is more miserable than they would be if they were alone, You know?
Zadie SmithCambridge was a joy. Tediously. People reading books in a posh place. It was my fantasy. I loved it. I miss it still.
Zadie SmithThe library was the place I went to find out what there was to know. It was absolutely essential.
Zadie SmithFor ridding oneself of faith is like boiling seawater to retrieve the salt--something is gained but something is lost.
Zadie SmithI guess I've always written more from the opposite perspective, that kind of existentialist perspective which argues that existence precedes essence. And there really isn't anything essential in there - you're the product of your actions, which can always change. And they retrospectively make you one way or another.
Zadie SmithOther peopleโs words are so important. And then without warning they stop being important, along with all those words of yours that their words prompted you to write. Much of the excitement of a new novel lies in the repudiation of the one written before. Other peopleโs words are the bridge you use to cross from where you were to wherever youโre going.
Zadie Smith