SOURCE: Smith, Zadie, and Christina Patterson. “Zadie Smith—A Willesden Ring of Confidence.” Independent (22 January 2000): 9.

In the following interview, Smith discusses White Teeth and its reception by the public and critics.

Zadie Smith was in the middle of her finals when she started to write the story that became White Teeth. It went on to win her a two-book deal of a rumoured quarter of a million—and she got a first. She's beautiful, too. The figure that strides into Silver Moon bookshop 15 minutes late is elegantly hip in a tight, long black skirt, warm jacket, Chris Evans specs and fur-lined hat with flaps, which she keeps on even in the cosy warmth of a nearby club. Not many people could get away with a hat like that. Not many would have the confidence to try.

The lateness, it transpires, is not to do with primadonna-ish tendencies, but...