--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing you learn about the novel as a…" description: "\"One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.\" — Zadie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png" --- # One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's… ![“One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png) > “One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel inherently possesses insight beyond the author's own understanding. **In simple terms:** Books often outsmart their writers. Key Takeaway Respect the novel’s independent voice. Themes literature humility creativity knowledge Mood reflective inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading clubs - writing workshops - literary analysis - teaching literature Key Concepts authorial limits narrative intelligence interpretive depth Questions to Reflect On - What can writers learn from their own stories? - How does a novel challenge its creator? A Different Perspective Authors may underestimate a work’s depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Smarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-smarter-3543397/) [Learn Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-novel-3543396/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-form-288354/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Smarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smarter/) ## Related quotes > [If my setting is new to a reader, or the concerns of the novel are new, I hope they will learn something about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-my-setting-is-new-to-a-reader-or-the-concerns-of-the-novel-are-new/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-think-the-novel-form-chose-me-i-was-a-writer-before-i-became-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I'm not nearly smart enough or imaginative enough to tackle the novel form. Never happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-m-not-nearly-smart-enough-or-imaginative-enough-to-tackle-the-novel/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [I say sometimes that I'm a poet but I work in the novel form. That's what I do. That's what makes sense to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-martin/i-say-sometimes-that-i-m-a-poet-but-i-work-in-the-novel-form-that-s/) [Douglas A. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-a-martin/) > [“What are we to do with the knowledge that Tayo was once a woman? That Ceremony held but abandoned considerable investments in Chicana identity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-moore/what-are-we-to-do-with-the-knowledge-that-tayo-was-once-a-woman-that/) [David L. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-moore/) > [I love the novel as a form, as an adventure of mind and soul. Really, I absolutely love writing them; they consume my days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/i-love-the-novel-as-a-form-as-an-adventure-of-mind-and-soul-really-i/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [But rather that we should lose our sense that neither can become the other, that the traditional novel form continues to enlarge our experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/but-rather-that-we-should-lose-our-sense-that-neither-can-become-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [The graphic novel form really interests me and I like the freedom that format offers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hill/the-graphic-novel-form-really-interests-me-and-i-like-the-freedom/) [Walter Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hill/) > [I think the graphic novel form works, in practice, a lot differently from watching a movie. You can put it down and pick it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-beacham/i-think-the-graphic-novel-form-works-in-practice-a-lot-differently/) [Travis Beacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-beacham/) > [The traditional novel form continues to enlarge our experience in those very areas where the wide-angle lens and the Cinema screen tend to narrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-traditional-novel-form-continues-to-enlarge-our-experience-in/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Personally, I'd never seen a graphic novel. I knew they existed because friends of mine like Jonathan Ross collect them and some very literate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/personally-i-d-never-seen-a-graphic-novel-i-knew-they-existed-because/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [It's a fantastic privilege to spend three or four hundred pages with a reader. You have time to go into certain questions that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/it-s-a-fantastic-privilege-to-spend-three-or-four-hundred-pages-with/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [The novel has always been the form that incorporates other forms. For me, it has always been the ultimate medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-novel-has-always-been-the-form-that-incorporates-other-forms-for/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [If I did only one thing at a time I'd think I was wasting my time. If, for example, I only wrote novels I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/if-i-did-only-one-thing-at-a-time-i-d-think-i-was-wasting-my-time-if/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. Everyone gets what’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/either-everything-is-sacred-or-nothing-is-and-if-he-starts-burning/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [My feeling is, having lived in different classes, that people want equality of opportunity... that's the thing that makes me despair: the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/my-feeling-is-having-lived-in-different-classes-that-people-want/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/in-short-it-was-precisely-the-kind-of-friendship-and-englishman-makes/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Some of us are happy with our African hair, thank you very much. I don't want some poor Indian girl's hair. And I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-of-us-are-happy-with-our-african-hair-thank-you-very-much-i-don/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a-form-is-that-it-s-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a-form-is-that-it-s-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/zadie-smith-584_books_one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a_393248.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it's always smarter than you are.” — Zadie Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Zadie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One thing you learn about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a-form-is-that-it-s-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/one-thing-you-learn-about-the-novel-as-a-form-is-that-it-s-always/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```