606 Quotes by Zadie Smith

Early in the morning, late in the century, Cricklewood Broadway.

So I might say to her: look, the thing you have to appreciate is that we’d just been through a century of relativism and deconstruction, in which we were informed that most of our fondest-held principles were either uncertain or simple wishful thinking, and in many areas of our lives we had already been asked to accept that nothing is essential and everything changes—and this had taken the fight out of us somewhat.

That girl,' tutted Alsana as her front door slammed, 'swallowed an encyclopedia and a gutter at the same time.

Und allmählich glaube ich, dass Geburtsorte Zufälle sind, dass alles ein Zufall ist. Aber wenn du das glaubst, wohin kannst du dann noch? Was machst du dann? Was ist dann überhaupt noch wichtig? Während Samad mit verstörtem Blick diese Dystopie beschrieb, merkte Irie beschämt, dass das Land der Zufälle sich für ihre Ohren wie das Paradies anhörte. Wie Freiheit.

A trauma is something one repeats and repeats, after all, and this is the tragedy of the Iqbals--that they can't help but reenact the dash they once made from one land to another, from one faith to another, from one brown mother country into the pale, freckled arms of an imperial sovereign.

And the sins of the Eastern father shall be visited upon the Western sons. Often taking their time, stored up in the genes like baldness or testicular carcinoma, but sometimes on the very same day.

You're next. It's the next thing. Next stop Kilburn Station. The doors fold inwards, urban insect closing its wings.

We are so convinced of the goodness of ourselves, and the goodness of our love, we cannot bear to believe that there might be something more worthy of love than us, more worthy of worship...Everybody deserves clean water. Not everybody deserves love all the time.

You're a library of me.