Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother!
Review: I am an avid reader and seldom do something as blashemous as to throw a book into the trash, but this is where this one has ended up. It's a sad state of affairs when garbage like this gets rave reviews. Guess you can accomplish anything with good press. How could anyone compare this author to Dickens is beyond me. Save your money and avoid the waste of time and money contained within the cover of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Am I Missing Something?
Review: Zadie Smith is a black female who writes like a white male. Could this have something to do with the novel's hype? Politics folks: that's all I'm driving at. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that Ms. Smith so casually ties in a pertinent bioethics issue. Reminded me of Vonnegut with all its zany characters and predicaments that eventually weave together. Overly ambituous at times: too much obscene language and shock attempts water down the story. On the upside, however, "White Teeth" moves quickly, has some humorous moments, and is much better than a lot of other stuff that somehow gets published. Promising... Best of luck on the 2nd, Ms. Smith.
Rating:
Summary: We Don't Get It
Review: My book group tackled this book after hearing rave reviews from National Public Radio talk shows. White Teeth was touted as THE best book of the summer. Most of the women in the group of 15 went out and purchased the book in hardcover, hoping for a wonderful experience. Instead, only two women in the group even finished the book. With the exception of one member, all found this book's characters impossibly hard to care about. The skilled writing style was not enough to keep us interested in continuing. Our discussion centered around WHY critics picked this book and WHY we didn't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely stunning!
Review: Impossible to top the review of Gary Jakaitas who explains the novel very succinctly...I was entranced by Zadie Smith's writing from the first page. She is so absolutely in control of the third person omniscient narrator, her voice so sure and full of gentle irony, she took my breath away! Her grasp of history and science and human nature reminded me of the great Robertson Davies, but even R.D., who exhibits his stunning intellect on every page, didn't write with the humor of Zadie Smith. And I doubt that he wrote anywhere near as well at 24 as he did at 42...or 82! May Zadie live a long, productive life and although it's hard to imagine her improving, she undoubtedly will. I await her next book with impatience.
Rating:
Summary: Enough BITE to break my book review hibernation
Review: (I haven't posted a book review since the beggining of the year)EXCELLENT! This book was absolutely rich in cultures, childhood and childish (i.e., from the adults) behaviors. Zadie covered every topic imaginable. Zadie's prose artfully and vividly evoked many memories for me. The most memorable were (1) the authentic Jamaican patios; (2) teenage hair perming with clumps of hair falling out; (3) the Muslims' deep dislike of pork eaters; (4) the fanatical Jehovah Witnesses and their many preparations for DOOMSDAY; and (5) the weed, ganja, spliff, blunt, rut, etc consumers. This book embraces so many topics, there is something in it for every reader. For a first time novelist, how can anyone top this? I eagerly look forward to the next.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I don't understand why this novel is getting such rave reviews. The first two-thirds of the book was enjoyable but not stunning - it was gritty and full of real-life dilemmas. I didn't find it particularly humorous - or at least not "laugh out loud" funny. As I began the final 100-200 pages, Smith was still introducing new characters to the detriment of the others that were not fully developed. The last 100 pages were intriguing as Smith wove the decisions and fates of the characters together, all pointing towards one room on New Years Eve. However, the end just plain falls apart and doesn't do the rest of the book justice. It's as if Smith herself decided the ending on the flip of a 50p coin and took about as much time to dash out the amateurish text.
Rating:
Summary: "White Teeth" Has Plenty of Bite!
Review: Oh, my! What a stunning debut this is! It's hard to believe this is the work of a 24 year old woman. She has an amazing command of language and a highly developed sense of irony for one so young. This is the story of the Jones and Iqbal families. Archie Jones, a working class Everyman, is saved from suicide by a cranky butcher who objects to folks gassing themselves in the restricted parking space in front of his store. Fated to live, Archie meets and marries the 19 year old, Clara, a beautiful, toothless Jamaican who is running from her Jehovah's Witness mother. Their daughter is named Irie, which means "no problem" in Jamaican patois. The name is definitely not prophetic. Archie's WWII war buddy, Samad Iqbal, weds the cranky, opinionated, and aggressive Alsana in an arranged marriage. This union produces the dashingly handsome twins, Millat and Magid. As the lives of these two multi-ethnic families progress, Smith addresses weighty questions of race, religion, sex, history, gene tinkering, and the immigrants' very real fear of loss of cultural identity as their children are assimilated into the culture of their adopted land. In an ironic twist, the "good" son Samad sends back to India to study his native Muslim religion becomes an atheist and a truly annoying scientist, while the "bad" son remaining in England becomes a militant Muslim, but no less annoying. I felt that the book dragged somewhat in the last hundred pages, as Smith seemed to become obsessed with her characters' obsessions. However, she did it with such grace of phrase and love of language that it's a minor complaint. This is a densely plotted and populated novel that requires a commitment from the reader. I didn't really "get" the teeth metaphor that runs through the entire book, however. Still, I can't wait for her next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and Entertaining
Review: I very much enjoyed reading this novel. The author is indeed a gifted writer. Her thoughtful handling of some difficult themes, such as religion, race, and science is impressive. I particularly appreciated her portrayal of the anxieties and difficulties faced by immigrants. Her ability to handle these themes in such a witty, and at times outright funny, way is reminiscent of Tom Wolfe at his best.
Rating:
Summary: Most likely to recommend
Review: This novel is not easy to describe. Yes, there is a plot. But like "Bonfire of the Vanities," the plot is secondary to the humor, the creative style, the zany minor characters, and the cultural observations. Unlike Tom Wolfe, Zadie Smith gives her characters a fairly sympathetic treatment, even as she exposes their flaws and absurdities. That actually makes her slightly more enjoyable, at least to me. If four-letter words bother you, then stay away from this book. Smith's lower-echelon Londoners cannot speak two consecutive sentences without using the f word. Otherwise, when people ask me for book recommendations this year, "White Teeth" probably will top my list among novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Charles Dickens Reincarnated as Young Black Woman!
Review: Rollicking, poignant, filthy, screamingly funny, insightful. So many terms could be piled up to describe this marvelous first novel by Zadie (what a lady) Smith. I didn't know what to expect upon buying the book and certainly did not plan to become so quickly captivated by the complex, fully rendered characters of Archie and Iqbal. I have travelled frequently to London over the past few years and found this to be the best true traveller's guide to that metropolis. Contemporary London has moved beyond the strawberries and cream of Princess Diana days to encompass the revenge of the entire fabulous Empire: from the Caribbean to Bengal, from end-of-the-world predicters to World War II remnants. And the prose! Zadie hears with the precision and wit of a 1,000 year old crone and writes like a toddler newly in love with our English language. A massive book for the ages, brava!
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