606 Quotes by Zadie Smith

Generally, women can’t do this, but men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men. Unrecognizable.

Porque el divorcio es eso: quitarle cosas que no ya no necesita a una persona a la que ya no quieres.

I was fourteen: the world was pain.

You can’t state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.

The fundamental skill of all mothers – the management of time – was beyond her. She measured time in pages.

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?

The world is now multicultural the same way the world is round. It’s not a selling point, it’s not a ‘quirky’ feature, it’s not a cynical marketing ploy, it’s not an artistic statement, it’s not even a plot device. It’s a fact, like seedless grapes.

We felt we had our place in time. What person on the earth doesn’t feel this way?

I wouldn’t write about people who are living and who are close to me, because I think it’s a very violent thing to do to another person. And anytime I have done it, even in the disguise of fiction, the results have been horrific.