43 Zadie Smith Quotes for You to Enjoy

Zadie Smith

British Novelist

Born: Oct 25, 1975

Always Me People Think Time You

Related authors: Anne Bronte Charles Morgan Charlotte Bronte Hector Hugh Munro Helen Oyeyemi Jeanette Winterson Matt Haig Roald Dahl

I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work that way. I tend to get the idea for a novel in a big splash. Zadie Smith

All my books are made up of other books. They're all deeply structured on other fiction, because I was a student in fiction and I didn't have much actual living to draw on. I suspect a lot of other people's novels are like that, too, though they might be slower to talk about it. Zadie Smith

People Made Living Too Other Books Draw Though Slower About Structured Student Like Talk Because Lot Up Suspect Fiction Might Much Novels Actual Deeply

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

You Experience Desperate Somebody Country Think Damn Everybody Everyone Tell Kind Find Give Also Because Opinion Odd Very America Where Not Interested Which Interested Them Then Really Need Peculiar

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 Smith

Time Home Me Exactly Idea Particularly Attracted Because Exile Very Any Being Literature Length Serious Away Inconceivable

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

Faith Me Word Nothing Ourselves About Seems Something Almost Almost Nothing Suppose Knowing Another Concrete Commit Often While Wholly

Nabokov, who I loved more than any other writer when I was young, had such contempt for dialogue. When I was younger, I never wrote a word of dialogue because of him. I thought it was a childish part of a novel. Zadie Smith

I love to dance, and sing - in the shower, not in public. I'm too old to go raving, but my fondest memories are of that kind of thing - dancing, with lots of people, outside if possible. Zadie Smith

Love Memories People Old Dance Too Dancing Possible Kind Outside Raving Sing Go Lots Public Shower Thing

English writing tends to fall into two categories - the big, baggy epic novel or the fairly controlled, tidy novel. For a long time, I was a fan of the big, baggy novel, but there's definitely an advantage to having a little bit more control. Zadie Smith

Time Writing Long Long Time Big Fall Control Bit Definitely Having More Tends Advantage Baggy Categories Fairly Tidy Controlled Fan Little Little Bit Epic English Novel Two

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