White Teeth

by Zadie Smith

“If only we were brave enough to make the decisions that must be made…between those worth saving and the rest…Is it a crime to want—”

But surely to tell these tall tales and others like them would be to speed the myth, the wicked lie, that the past is always tense and the future, perfect. And as Archie knows, it’s not like that. It’s never been like that.