Zadie Smith on Turning 50, Time, and the Age Divide We All Enter
Let me tell you about this fascinating moment in Zadie Smith’s life and work, because it feels deeply relatable, no matter what age you are. Zadie Smith, who burst onto the literary scene at just 25 with her acclaimed debut novel White Teeth , is now 50, and her new essay collection Dead and Alive feels like a thoughtful pause to look around, look back, and look honestly at where she is now.
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In these essays and recent interviews, Smith reflects on middle age, time, and the widening gap between generations, especially between her own Generation X and younger people trying to find their footing today. One idea keeps coming up again and again: how fast time moves. She says the biggest thing she knows now, something she didn’t understand at 20, is that you become 50 in the blink of an eye. It’s not meant as a warning exactly, more like a quiet truth that sneaks up on everyone.
Smith talks openly about the anger that exists in today’s generational conversations, and she doesn’t dismiss it. In fact, it’s acknowledged as understandable. When younger people feel locked out of housing, stable work, or even the idea of building a future, frustration is bound to be felt. That anger, she suggests, makes sense in a world shaped by climate anxiety, economic pressure, and shrinking opportunities. At the same time, she urges a bit of care on both sides, reminding everyone that youth is not permanent, even though it feels that way while you’re in it.
There’s also a deeply personal layer to these reflections. Smith describes herself as someone who lives with a kind of baseline melancholy, something she’s learned to accept rather than fight. Interestingly, she says she’s less afraid of death now than she was in her 20s. Back then, everything felt urgent and fragile. Now, after years of work, luck, and creative fulfillment, there’s a sense that she’s already been given a great deal, and whatever comes next feels like a bonus.
Aging, of course, isn’t just philosophical. Smith speaks candidly about physical vulnerability, including dealing with macular degeneration and undergoing eye surgery. These moments serve as reminders that the body changes whether we’re ready or not. Quoting Salman Rushdie, she notes that our lives end up teaching us who we really are, no matter what stories we tell ourselves along the way.
What comes through most strongly is her belief that each generation has to figure things out for itself. Progress isn’t something neatly handed down. The role of those who came before, she suggests, isn’t to lecture or enforce, but to offer support, understanding, and a little humility. In the end, Dead and Alive feels less like a lecture about aging and more like a calm, honest conversation about what it means to be human as time keeps moving, whether we notice it or not.
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