“Mothers are urgently trying to tell something to their daughters, and this urgency is precisely what repels their daughters, forcing them to turn away. Mothers are left stranded, madly holding a lump of London clay, some grass, some white tubers, a dandelion, a fat worm passing the world through itself.”

English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer

Zadie Smith is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, White Teeth, appeared in 2000 and quickly became a best-seller, bringing her wide attention. She has 153 quotes on the site. Smith’s first novel also won several awards. In September 2010, she became a tenured professor in the creative writing faculty at New York University.