Zadie Smith

I mean, when he was very old and dying, I interviewed him about it a bit and I wrote about that a little bit.

But whatever he saw over there, he really didn't want to discuss.

I know it's the old cliche, but I think the trauma was lifelong.

You had to go to school, right?

I went to school, but I was, I guess, a bit of a latchkey kid because my parents were working.

So from 3.30, it was anybody's house.

And I watched a tremendous amount.

I mean, it's the early 80s, right?

So TV is still relatively new.

And I just loved it.

I still really profoundly love television.

I have to kind of...

you know, keep control over it.

But when you're in a household of two such peculiarly different individuals out of two alien histories, and then thirdly, you're in a country which you know is your home, but many people in it don't seem to think it's your home.

You're kind of looking for clues, like what is going on?

Yeah.

I mean, it's still a period like for my mother when she first arrived.

I mean, when they married, they went on honeymoon.

They couldn't get a room together in Paris.

You would try and get a room in England.