Narcissism, solipsism.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2016 source ↗
The question
Which trait in yourself do you like least?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 239 →
Romesh Ranganathan
English actor and comedian
My complete lack of organisation that affects all part of my life – my living space, my being in touch with people, everything. I am a walking shitshow.
Being judgmental.
Lack of confidence masquerading as perfectionism.
Angela Hartnett
English chef
Procrastination.
More from Zadie Smith
View profile →Violent death. Death generally.
Reading quietly, in high grass, among loved ones (who are also quietly reading). Followed by a boozy lunch.
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
Oblivious to the event or on the brink of a genuine religious conversion.
Don’t romanticise your “vocation”. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle”. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
I feel almost certain I don't know them. It would be one of these types who dedicate their lives to the welfare of others, whereas the people I tend to know are people making stories out of the dramas of themselves.
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Also answered this
John Grisham, Julian Clary, Jane Asher, Kathy Lette, Jacqueline Wilson, Fay Ripley
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