Quotessence
Home / Authors / Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith Quotes

Novelist

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleWritingFeelsWayIfsThinkingNovelWorldMenWhite TeethBookChildrenFictionKindMightSeemsIdeasKnowsWantSaid

Famous Zadie Smith Quotes

“Then you begin to give up the very idea of belonging. Suddenly this thing, this belonging,it seems like some long, dirty lie ... and I begin to believe that birthplaces are accidents, that everything is an accident. But if you believe that, where do you go? What do you do? What does anything matter?”

IfsGivingBelieveLongDoeIdeasMatterSeemsLyingCommunityGiving UpAccidentsDirtyBelongingIf You BelieveBirthplace
Book:White Teeth: A Novel
Create image

“If religion is the opiate of the people, tradition is an even more sinister analgesic, simply because it rarely appears sinister. If religion is a tight band, a throbbing vein, and a needle, tradition is a far homelier concoction: poppy seeds ground into tea; a sweet cocoa drink laced with cocaine; the kind of thing your grandmother might have made.”

PeopleIfsKindMadeMightSweetDrinkBandTraditionSeedsTeaGrandmotherVeinsNeedlesCocaineSinisterPoppiesOpiatesYour GrandmotherCocoa
Book:White Teeth
Create image

“But sometimes it's like you just meet someone and you just know that you're totally connected, and this person is, like, your brother - or your sister. Even if they don't, like, recognize it, you feel it. And in a lot of ways it don't matter if they do or they don't see that for what it is - all you can do is put the feeling out there. That's your duty. Then you just wait and see what comes back to you. That's the deal.”

IfsKnowsWayFeelsPersonsSometimesMatterFeelingsWaitingCan DoDealsBrotherDutyLike YouConnectedYour Brother
Author:Zadie Smith
Create image

“It seems to me,' said Magid finally, as the moon became clearer than the sun, 'that you have tried to love a man as if he were an island and you were shipwrecked and you could mark the land with an X. It seems to me it is too late in the day for all that.' Then he gave her a kiss on the forehead that felt like a baptism and she wept like a baby.”

IfsMenSaidSeemsFeltSunLandBabyMoonKissingLateMarkIslandsToo LateForeheadsBaptism
Book:White Teeth
Create image

“She had that thing most people don't have - curiosity. She might not have always got the right answers, but she wanted to ask the questions. It's very hard if you are interested in ideas and all that, ideas and the philosophies of the past, it's very hard to find someone around here to really talk to. That's the tragedy of the thing really I mean, when you think about it. Certainly I can't find anyone around here to talk to anymore. And for a woman it's even harder you see. They can feel very trapped - because of the patriarchy. I do feel everyone needs to have these little chats now and then.”

PeopleIfsThinkingNeedsFeelsMeanLittlesI CanIdeasHardPhilosophyMightWantedPastAsksAnswersHarderTragedyCuriosityNow And ThenTrappedPatriarchyRight Answers
Author:Zadie Smith
Create image

“I remember so clearly, in the early days, if I had to do a piece of press, they'd phone for me and say, 'Oh, we're going to bring hair and makeup, it'll take about five hours.' And I said, 'Well, if it was Ian McEwan, would it take about five hours? Would there be hair and makeup? Cause if that's not the case, then don't bring the hair and makeup.' So, it's fascinating that they just assume: it's a young woman, she must want to be photographed for five hours. She must have nothing better to do than delight in trying on all your shoes. But it's not the case.”

IfsWantTryingWellsSaidRememberYoungCausesHoursCasesFivePiecesHairPressesAssumingShoesPhonesDelightFascinatingMakeupYoung WomenHair And Makeup
Author:Zadie Smith
Create image