Author Smith raps English culture

Zadie Smith has made the Booker shortlist for her novel On Beauty

Booker Prize nominee Zadie Smith has attacked English culture, describing aspects of the country's life "disgusting" and "terrifying".

The author, who lives in north London, told New York magazine England was full of "stupidity" and "vulgarity".

"When I think of England now I just think about the England that I loved, and it's just gone," she said.

Smith's novel On Beauty is one of six shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction, to be decided in October.

'Stupid work'

BOOKER PRIZE ODDS 5/4 - Julian Barnes, Arthur and George 4/1 - Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go 5/1 - Zadie Smith, On Beauty 8/1 - Sebastian Barry, A Long Long Way 10/1 - John Banville, The Sea 12/1 - Ali Smith, The Accidental Source: William Hill Booker author profiles

Explaining her dislike of aspects of English life, Smith said: "It's the way people look at each other on the train - just general stupidity, madness, vulgarity, stupid TV shows, aspirational arseholes, money everywhere.

"It's just a disgusting place, it's terrifying. Maybe I'm just getting old."

On Friday she clarified her comments on BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour.

"I love England but the things that I don't love about it are those things - I don't love trash TV and I'm sad when I see people glaring at each other on the Tube," Smith said.

"Those things upset me, but they only upset you when you love your country so much that you're sad when you feels bit of it to be in decline."

Born in London and educated at Cambridge, Smith, 29, released her acclaimed debut novel White Teeth in 2000.

In New York magazine she described writing novels as "quite stupid work".

"In a novel you're never wrong," she said. "Novelists aren't intellectuals, they're just intuitive, if they're lucky."