Fresh Air, Zadie Smith, Tom Perrotta, and David Edelstein, December 18, 2007

De: Terry Gross

Because Audible was not granted rights for today's program, we present this show from our Fresh Air archive, featuring author Zadie Smith, novelist Tom Perrotta, and film critic David Edelstein. Smith's latest novel, On Beauty, is out in paperback. Smith gained critical acclaim for her debut novel, White Teeth, penned when she was just 24. Her second novel was The Autograph Man. On Beauty, her third book, is already garnering praise from critics. Smith says it is an homage to E. M. Forster's Howard's End. On Beauty is set in the fictional New England town of Wellington, which is based on a real place: Boston. Smith grew up in London, the child of an English father and a Jamaican mother. Then, Tom Perrotta, whose book Little Children, a satirical take on parenthood and suburbia, has been adapted into a film starring Kate Winslet. One reviewer wrote of the book, "It represents a sterling comic contribution to the growing literature of the Bad Mommy and Bad Daddy." Perrotta is also the author of the novels Joe College and Election; the latter was made into the 1999 movie of the same name. Finally, film critic David Edelstein reviews Stephen Frears' new film The Queen. [Original Broadcast Date: October 13, 2006]Liked the interview? Then don't miss On Beauty by Zadie Smith and Little Children by Tom Perrotta.
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