Background information

Zadie Smith and her background

Zadie Smith, the author of The Embassy of Cambodia, is an English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. She was born in Willesden in the North West of London and is half Jamaican. In this way, Smith is extremely familiar with the main location of her novella The Embassy of Cambodia, and the neighborhood of Willesden. 

Smith studied English literature at King’s College, Cambridge where she published short stories in a collection of student writing. She has published five novels in total: White Teeth (2000), The Autograph Man (2002), On Beauty (2005), NW (2012), and Swing Time (2016); two short story collections, and several essays and other non-fiction. Her writing frequently deals with issues of race, religion, and cultural identity, often featuring eccentric characters, humor, and snappy dialogue. Smith’s first published novel, White Teeth (2000), was a best-seller and received critical praise and several awards. It is her most popular book.

Smith has won numerous literary prizes and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. She is currently a tenured professor of fiction at New York University and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Cambodian Genocide

Zadie Smith’s novella The Embassy of Cambodia mentions the Cambodian geno...