Political Gabfest
Gabfest Reads: Zadie Smith Knows You're a Fraud
Sep 23, 2023
Author Zadie Smith discusses her new book 'The Fraud' with Emily Bazelon, exploring themes of justice and fiction. They delve into the Titchborne trial's impact on Zadie, confinement of women in the past, exploring relationships and identity, dividing attributes and motives in a novel, and the role of writers and storytellers in society.
29:13
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Quick takeaways
- The Fraud explores the themes of truth and fiction, questioning the authenticity of the characters and highlighting the idea that everyone has a certain level of fraudulence.
- The struggle for rights involves numerous people with varying motivations and strengths, and even smaller contributions to social change hold significance.
Deep dives
The Fraud: Exploring Truth and Fiction
The podcast episode discusses Zadie Smith's new historical novel, The Fraud. Set in the 19th century, the novel centers around the Titchborn trial, where a man claiming to be the heir to a wealthy English family emerges. Smith describes the novel as an exploration of the themes of truth and fiction, questioning who in the book is not a fraud and delving into the idea that everyone has a certain level of fraudulence. She also draws parallels between the Titchborn case, the O.J. Simpson trial, and the political rise of figures like Donald Trump, highlighting the captivating power of individuals who present themselves as something other than they truly are.
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