Twenty Twenty: A Pop Culture Podcast

White Teeth: Sharmaine Lovegrove on Zadie Smith’s Literary Debut

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Episode notes

The new millennium brought with it a fresh wave of optimism and excitement for the future. Zadie Smith's best selling debut novel White Teeth embodied this mood and symbolised a changing of the guard. Smith was lauded with critical acclaim and lavished with media attention — an overnight literary sensation at just 24 years old. With special guest Sharmaine Lovegrove, publisher at Dialogue Books, we explore the impact of the novel and the legacy of its author.

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Select books Sharmaine mentions in the episode:

The Lonely Londoners, Sam Selvon

Second Class Citizen, Buchi Emecheta

The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi

The Black Album, Hanif Kureishi

Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo

Queenie, Candice Carty Williams