Person
Zadie Smith's book recommendations
Zadie Smith’s most recommended books
- Frantz Fanon by Adam Shatz
- The Diary of Virginia Woolf by Virginia Woolf
- The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Zadie Smith is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, White Teeth, published in 2000, was an immediate best-seller and won a number of awards. Smith became a tenured professor in the Creative Writing faculty of New York University in September 2010. During her podcast appearances, Smith discussed both classic literature and contemporary works while sharing a few distinct reading recommendations. She recommended Daniel Kehlmann's The Director, describing it as a wonderful book about filmmaker W.G. Pabst and comparing its themes of complicity to her own novel The Fraud. She also recommended Adam Shatz's biography of Frantz Fanon, praising it as a really great book about the radical socialist psychiatrist, and passionately recommended the five volumes of The Diary of Virginia Woolf as a text she repeatedly champions. Beyond her formal recommendations, Smith mentioned Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to illustrate how she teaches classic literature without ideological friction, and referenced Elizabeth Strout's novel Tell Me Everything while discussing the importance of listening to others.
Books recommended by Zadie Smith
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Frantz Fanon
Frantz Fanon by Adam Shatz is a biographical examination of the life and legacy of the radical socialist psychiatrist and anti-colonial thinker.
Recommended“I am reading another friend's book Adam shatz on Fanon who was the radical socialist psychiatrist and that's a really really great book about F on”
Where to get it
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The Diary of Virginia Woolf
The Diary of Virginia Woolf collects the intimate daily writings of the pioneering modernist author across multiple decades and volumes.
Recommended“and the other thing I've read recently which I keep on banging on about is all of Virginia wolfes Diaries um there's five volumes”
Where to get it
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The Director
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann is a historical fiction novel inspired by the complex life and career of renowned Austrian filmmaker G.W.
Recommended“well right now I'm reading the director which is by my Austrian friend Daniel kilman It's a Wonderful book about uh the filmmaker WG Pabst”
Where to get it
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Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic novel that explores themes of love, class, and marriage in 19th-century England through the spirited relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Discussed“so like if I'm teaching Pride and Prejudice this is not a battle between woke thought and unwoke thought”
Where to get it
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Tell Me Everything
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout brings back several beloved literary creations to explore the intricate dynamics of small-town life and human connection.
Discussed“her last novel is called tell me anything and there's a line or tell me everything maybe”
Where to get it
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The Fraud
The Fraud by Zadie Smith is a rich historical novel set in Victorian London during the era of Charles Dickens, centering around the famous Tichborne claimant case and themes of complicity and imposture.
Discussed“He said these books are the same and reading it I realized they are the same they're about complicity”
Where to get it
Books by Zadie Smith
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White Teeth
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The Autograph Man
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Swing Time
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NW
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Changing My Mind
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Feel Free
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Grand Union Stories
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The Book of Other People
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The Fraud
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Intimations
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Weirdo
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Zadie Smith introduces The burned children of America
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Crash
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Deana Lawson
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Busted in New York and Other Essays
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Wife of Willesden
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zadie Smith on Populists, Frauds and Flip Phones | The Ezra Klein Show | 2024-09-17 | 6 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“he did white teeth and he said I will never do that again it is that book is too long”