The Embassy of Cambodia

Zadie Smith — 2013

Revisiting the terrain of her acclaimed novel NW, The Embassy of Cambodia is another remarkable work of fiction from Zadie Smith. 'The fact is, if we followed the history of every little country in the world -- in its dramatic as well as its quiet times -- we would have no space left in which to live our own lives or apply ourselves to our necessary tasks, never mind indulge in occasional pleasures, like swimming . . . ' First published in the New Yorker, The Embassy of Cambodia is a rare and brilliant story that takes us deep into the life of a young woman, Fatou, domestic servant to the Derawals and escapee from one set of hardships to another. Beginning and ending outside the Embassy of Cambodia, which happens to be located in Willesden, north-west London, Zadie Smith's absorbing, moving and wryly observed story suggests how the apparently small things in an ordinary life always raise larger, more extraordinary questions. 'Its range is lightly immense... a fiction of consequences both global and heart-rendingly intimate' Guardian 'Smith serves up a smasher' Independent Playful... unexpected and absolutely right... Skips to a beat all of its own' Times Praise for NW: 'A triumph . . .modern London is explored in a dazzling portrait . . . every sentence sings' Guardian 'Intensely funny, richly varied, always unexpected. A joyous, optimistic, angry masterpiece. No better English novel will be published this year' Philip Hensher, Daily Telegraph 'Absolutely brilliant . . . So electrically authentic, it reads like surveillance transcripts' Lev Grossman, TIME

Reviews

Andrew John Kinney@numidica

Aug 18, 2023

This is the best short novel I've read this year. Fyi, reading short works is my new method for deciding whether I want to read more of . a particular author - very little investment of time required, and one gets a sense of the author. In the case of Zadie Smith, I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future. The Embassy of Cambodia is a simple story about a woman, Fatou, an immigrant from Ghana, who is working in virtual servitude for an Indian(?) couple who treat her as a non-entity, someone to be monitored, suspected, watched. Fatou's one solitary pleasure is swimming at the health center down the street, but even this she must do surreptitiously, using guest passes she lifts from her employers' house. She also meets Andrew, the only African man she has contact with, and their meetings are chaste and occur at the Tunisian cafe'. I thought the character development was excellent. Fatou's "otherness" in the midst of England is emphasized by the Greek Chorus style commentary in some chapters by "the people of Willesden", and by her own lack of worldly knowledge, exposed in the course of her discussions with Andrew. But she has wisdom of a practical nature, and strength, as we come to find out. A very engaging book from an author I am glad to have discovered.

Frederik Van den Bril@frederikvandenbril

Nov 4, 2021

Very nice and touching short story by Zadie Smith about freedom, repression, discrimination and multiculturalism. Fatou works as a house maid for the Derawal family. She hasn't seen her pasport since she arrived, her wages are kept to pay for the food and water and heat, as well as to cover the rent for the room she sleeps in. Is she a slave, she wonders? She concludes she's not, as she is allowed to leave the house. In this short-story Zadie Smith manages to conjure up a world that is as rich as a full novel. I found it on the second-hand book market for 1 euro, I adore the cover. It was first published in the New Yorker, you can read it here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20....