Osama

“Please. Do me this one, great favor, Jones. If ever you hear anyone, when you are back home...if ever you hear anyone speak of the East," and here his voice plummeted a register, and the tone was full and sad, "hold your judgment. If you are told 'they are all this' or 'they do this' or 'their opinions are these,' withhold your judgment until all the facts are upon you. Because that land they call 'India' goes by a thousand names and is populated by millions, and if you think you have found two men the same among that multitude, then you are mistaken. It is merely a trick of the moonlight.”
― Zadie Smith, White Teeth

“المسكين

ينشِبُ مِخلَبَهُ في ساقِ ذُعرِهَا المُتَعثِّر
يُحَاصِرَهَا كَفَخ
كمتاهَة
كجِدار
يغمسُ نابَهُ في نبضِها ويبكى

جائعٌ جدًا
وفي منتهى الحُزن”
― أسامة جاد, الجميلة سوف تأتي

“The golden age of Luncheon Vouchers ended ten years
ago. For ten years Mickey had been saying, “The golden
age of Luncheon Vouchers is over.” And that’s what Archie
loved about O’Connell’s. Everything was remembered,
nothing was lost. History was never revised or
reinterpreted, adapted or whitewashed. It was as solid and
as simple as the encrusted egg on the clock.”
― Zadie Smith, White Teeth

“But as the prey evolves (and we are prey to the Mad who are pursuing us, desperate to impart their own brand of truth to the hapless commuter) so does the hunter, and the true professionals begin to tire of that old catchphrase “What you looking at?” begin to tire of that old catchphrase “What you looking at?” and move into more exotic territory. Take Mad Mary. Oh, the principle’s still the same, it’s still all about eye contact and the danger of making it, but now she’s making eye contact from a hundred, two hundred, even three hundred yards away, and if she catches you doing the same she roars down the street, dreads and feathers and cape afloat, Hoodoo stick in hand, until she gets to where you are, spits on you, and begins.”
― Zadie Smith, White Teeth