Dua Lipa & Zadie Smith: White Teeth

In conversation with Dua Lipa, Zadie Smith discusses her extraordinary 2000 debut novel, White Teeth. First published when Smith was just 24 years old, White Teeth became one of the most celebrated novels of the new millennium. Dazzling in its scope and vision, it is a big-hearted story of the Joneses and the Iqbals, two immigrant families brought together by friendship, tangled histories and the London suburb of Willesden. It’s big, funny and flashy, and it boldly announced Zadie Smith as a gifted young writer to look out for. A quarter of a century later, she is one of the most acclaimed authors of our time. But how does the legacy of her first published work sit with her today? Smith and Lipa touch on the ambitious scope of the novel, what life in London might look like for the Joneses and the Iqbals in today’s political climate, and how one lives with one’s own artistic legacy when it is cemented at such a young age. This conversation is recorded live for the Service95 Book Club podcast. Founded by Dua Lipa, the Service95 Book Club is a space to enjoy all things literary, including Dua’s hand-picked Monthly Reads and her exclusive author interviews, plus new book trends, recommendations from the Service95 team and more ways for you to read the world differently.