Kate

“This, after all, was the month in which families began tightening and closing and sealing; from Thanksgiving to the New Year, everybody's world contracted, day by day, into the microcosmic single festive household, each with its own rituals and obsessions, rules and dreams. You didn't feel you could call people. They didn't feel they could phone you. How does one cry for help from these seasonal prisons?”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty

“I don't ask myself what did I live for, said Carlene strongly. That is a man's question. I ask whom did I live for. ”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty

“- You look fine.
- Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki had dreaded having girls: she knew she wouldn't be able to protect them from self-disgust. ”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty

“You don't have favourites among your children, but you do have allies. ”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty