Zadie Smith Quotes

Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

Under every friendship there is a difficult sentence that must be said, in order that the friendship can be survived.

Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of one's own resources.

Time is how you spend your love.

In the end, your past is not my past and your truth is not my truth and your solution - is not my solution.

Cos if it's encyclopedias we've got enough, like, information... and if it's God, you've got the wrong house.

When the male organ of a man stands erect, two thirds of his intelect go away. And one third of his religion.

It's still easier to find the correct Hoover bag than to find one pure person, one pure faith, on the globe.

Not everyone wants this conventional little life you’re rowing your boat toward. I like my river of fire. And when it’s time for me to go I fully intend to roll off my one-person dinghy into the flames and be consumed. I'm not afraid.

This is what a woman is: unadorned, after children and work and age, and experience-these are the marks of living.

And I'm not going to get any thinner or any younger, my ass is going to hit the ground, if it hasn't already-and I want to be with somebody who can still see me in here. I'm still in here. And I don't want to be resented or despised for changing...I'd rather be alone.

The mantra of the makeover junkie, sucking it in, letting it out; unwilling to settle for genetic fate; waiting instead for her transformation...

This was why Kiki had dreaded having girls: she knew she wouldn't be able to protect them from self-disgust.

Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories.

American houses...' she said, peering over her right shoulder and down the street. 'They always seem to believe that nobody ever loses anything, has lost anything. I find that very sad. Do you know what I mean?

My mind does not easily accept stately historical processions.

They had nothing to say to each other. A five-year age gap between siblings is like a garden that needs constant attention. Even three months apart allows the weeds to grow up between you.

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?

You must live life with the full knowledge that your actions will remain. We are creatures of consequence.

They were real people who entertained and argued and existed entirely independently from him, although he had set the thing in motion. They had different thoughts and beliefs. ~ on children growing up.