NW

by

Zadie Smith

Leah is the daughter of Pauline and Colin, the wife of Michel, and the best friend of Keisha. She is of Irish heritage and grew up as a rebellious teenager in the working-class Caldwell council estate, but as an adult, she becomes more settled and attempts to build a stable life with her husband. Leah grows up to have a strong sense of altruism, which is what motivates her to find work helping charities and nonprofits as well as to help a former schoolmate named Shar who comes to her door begging for money. Some characters, however, believe Leah is too gullible—particularly Michel—and this causes Leah herself to doubt whether giving money to Shar was the right thing to do. Although Leah is attracted to Michel, they have a difficult relationship, and she is keeping a major secret from him: she is taking contraceptives and going in for abortions in order to avoid becoming pregnant. The differing fates of Leah and Keisha (who started poorer than Leah but becomes much wealthier) illustrates the potential for social mobility in Northwest London, and Leah’s character raises difficult questions about the possibilities and limits of altruism and generosity.

Leah Hanwell Quotes in NW

The NW quotes below are all either spoken by Leah Hanwell or refer to Leah Hanwell. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class Identity and Social Mobility Theme Icon
).
Visitation: Chapter 1 Quotes

The fat sun stalls by the phone masts. Anti-climb paint turns sulphurous on school gates and lampposts. In Willesden people go barefoot, the streets turn European, there is a mania for eating outside. She keeps to the shade. Redheaded. On the radio: I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 2 Quotes

— Come by tomorrow. Pay you back. Swear to God, yeah? Thanks, seriously. You saved me today.

Related Characters: Shar (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Michel
Related Symbols: Headscarf
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 5 Quotes

Leah believes in objectivity in the bedroom:

Here lie a man and a woman. The man is more beautiful than the woman. And for this reason there have been times when the woman has feared that she loves the man more than he loves her.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 12 Quotes

Look up. A jolting form of time travel, moving in two directions: imposing the child on this man, this man on the child. One familiar, one unknown. The afro of the man is uneven and has a tiny gray feather in it. The clothes are ragged. One big toe thrusts through the crumby rubber of an ancient red stripe Nike Air. The face is far older that it should be, even given the nasty way time has with human materials. He has an odd patch of white skin on his neck. Yet the line of beauty has not been entirely broken.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Nathan, Shar, Pauline Hanwell
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 15 Quotes

She has taken some literature from work, from the literature cupboard. Professional organizations offering professional help. This is “as much as you can do.” Now it is time for the addict “to make their own decisions.” Because “nobody can force anyone else to get the help they need.”

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 62
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 16 Quotes

— Why do you treat me like an idiot all the time?

Related Characters: Michel (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis
Page Number: 62
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 20 Quotes

The boy is a boy and Michel is a man but they look the same age.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Nathan, Shar
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 23 Quotes

— He was murdered! Why does it matter where he grew up?

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell (speaker), Michel, Felix
Related Symbols: Albert Road
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 37 (3) Quotes

Sounds reasonable but she can’t take it reasonably. She is enraged by the possibility that he does not believe her. This is the girl! Don’t you believe me? That’s an insane coincidence! Her photos are in my envelope!

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 108
Explanation and Analysis:
Host Quotes

“You rose up with these red pigtails in your hand. You dragged her up. You were the only one saw she was in trouble.”

Related Characters: Marcia (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Pauline Hanwell
Page Number: 202
Explanation and Analysis:

Keisha Blake thought to the left and thought to the right but there was no exit, and this was very likely the first time she became aware of the problem of suicide.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Marcia
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis:

It was not that Ms. Blake hadn’t noticed the white people walking around with the climbing equipment, or the white people huddled in stairwells discussing the best method to chain themselves to an oak tree. She had experienced her usual anthropological curiosity with regard to these matters. But she had thought it was more of an aesthetic than a protest.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:

Natalie Blake had completely forgotten what it was like to be poor. It was a language she’d stopped being able to speak, or even to understand.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis, Shar
Page Number: 330
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation Quotes

In her daughter’s eyes Natalie saw her own celebrated will reflected back at her, at twice the intensity.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis, Marcia, Elena De Angelis, Naomi, Spike
Page Number: 391
Explanation and Analysis:

“You, me, all of us. Why that girl and not us. Why that poor bastard on Albert Road. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell (speaker), Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Felix
Related Symbols: Albert Road
Page Number: 400
Explanation and Analysis:

“I got something to tell you,” said Keisha Blake, disguising her voice with her voice.

Related Characters: Keisha “Natalie” Blake (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Felix, Nathan, Shar
Page Number: 401
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire NW LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Leah Hanwell Quotes in NW

The NW quotes below are all either spoken by Leah Hanwell or refer to Leah Hanwell. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class Identity and Social Mobility Theme Icon
).
Visitation: Chapter 1 Quotes

The fat sun stalls by the phone masts. Anti-climb paint turns sulphurous on school gates and lampposts. In Willesden people go barefoot, the streets turn European, there is a mania for eating outside. She keeps to the shade. Redheaded. On the radio: I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 2 Quotes

— Come by tomorrow. Pay you back. Swear to God, yeah? Thanks, seriously. You saved me today.

Related Characters: Shar (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Michel
Related Symbols: Headscarf
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 5 Quotes

Leah believes in objectivity in the bedroom:

Here lie a man and a woman. The man is more beautiful than the woman. And for this reason there have been times when the woman has feared that she loves the man more than he loves her.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 12 Quotes

Look up. A jolting form of time travel, moving in two directions: imposing the child on this man, this man on the child. One familiar, one unknown. The afro of the man is uneven and has a tiny gray feather in it. The clothes are ragged. One big toe thrusts through the crumby rubber of an ancient red stripe Nike Air. The face is far older that it should be, even given the nasty way time has with human materials. He has an odd patch of white skin on his neck. Yet the line of beauty has not been entirely broken.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Nathan, Shar, Pauline Hanwell
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 15 Quotes

She has taken some literature from work, from the literature cupboard. Professional organizations offering professional help. This is “as much as you can do.” Now it is time for the addict “to make their own decisions.” Because “nobody can force anyone else to get the help they need.”

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 62
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 16 Quotes

— Why do you treat me like an idiot all the time?

Related Characters: Michel (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis
Page Number: 62
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 20 Quotes

The boy is a boy and Michel is a man but they look the same age.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Nathan, Shar
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 23 Quotes

— He was murdered! Why does it matter where he grew up?

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell (speaker), Michel, Felix
Related Symbols: Albert Road
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation: Chapter 37 (3) Quotes

Sounds reasonable but she can’t take it reasonably. She is enraged by the possibility that he does not believe her. This is the girl! Don’t you believe me? That’s an insane coincidence! Her photos are in my envelope!

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Michel, Shar
Page Number: 108
Explanation and Analysis:
Host Quotes

“You rose up with these red pigtails in your hand. You dragged her up. You were the only one saw she was in trouble.”

Related Characters: Marcia (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Pauline Hanwell
Page Number: 202
Explanation and Analysis:

Keisha Blake thought to the left and thought to the right but there was no exit, and this was very likely the first time she became aware of the problem of suicide.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Marcia
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis:

It was not that Ms. Blake hadn’t noticed the white people walking around with the climbing equipment, or the white people huddled in stairwells discussing the best method to chain themselves to an oak tree. She had experienced her usual anthropological curiosity with regard to these matters. But she had thought it was more of an aesthetic than a protest.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:

Natalie Blake had completely forgotten what it was like to be poor. It was a language she’d stopped being able to speak, or even to understand.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis, Shar
Page Number: 330
Explanation and Analysis:
Visitation Quotes

In her daughter’s eyes Natalie saw her own celebrated will reflected back at her, at twice the intensity.

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell, Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Francesco “Frank” De Angelis, Marcia, Elena De Angelis, Naomi, Spike
Page Number: 391
Explanation and Analysis:

“You, me, all of us. Why that girl and not us. Why that poor bastard on Albert Road. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Related Characters: Leah Hanwell (speaker), Keisha “Natalie” Blake, Felix
Related Symbols: Albert Road
Page Number: 400
Explanation and Analysis:

“I got something to tell you,” said Keisha Blake, disguising her voice with her voice.

Related Characters: Keisha “Natalie” Blake (speaker), Leah Hanwell, Felix, Nathan, Shar
Page Number: 401
Explanation and Analysis: