From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end.ĭepicting the modern urban zone-familiar to town-dwellers everywhere-Zadie Smith’s NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself. Zadie Smith’s brilliant tragi-comic new novel follows four Londoners-Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan-as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. Smith’s childhood was fairly typical, but her parents were anything but. The family of her, her parents, and two brothers lived in a housing development. She grew up in Kilburna working class neighborhood in Northwest London.

Like the April afternoon a woman came to Leah Hanwell’s door, seeking help, disturbing the peace, forcing Leah out of her isolation. Zadie (born Sadie) Smith was born in Willesden, North London, to parents Yvonne Bailey and Harvey Smith in 1975. Smith’s childhood was fairly typical, but her parents were.

Separate worlds.Īnd then there are the visitations: the rare times a stranger crosses a threshold without permission or warning, causing a disruption in the whole system. Author Bio: Zadie (born Sadie) Smith was born in Willesden, North London, to parents Yvonne Bailey and Harvey Smith in 1975. And many people in between.Įvery city is like this. Here you’ll find guests and hosts, those with power and those without it, people who live somewhere special and others who live nowhere at all.

Nw zadie smith sparknotes