Rating: Summary: Engossing read Review: Maybe it's because I'm somewhat ignorant to British, West and East Indian cultures (i.e. i'm American), I thought the book was a fun and engrossing read. I haven't really read much because I've spent the last 10 years working on a bachelor's and two masters degrees and the last thing I want to see most I the time when I get home is a book. But I found myself absorbed and completely involved in the plot and entertained from beginning to the (somewhat disappointing) end. I did think that the character of Irie was underdeveloped, though. Simply put, I liked it.
Rating: Summary: could someone correct the record please? Review: Why were Smith's glaring mistakes passed over? Because everyone likes to laugh at colonial subjects and so getting it right is the least of it? Well just to say that "irie" is not Jamaican for "no problem." "No problem" is Jamaican for "no problem." Irie is a rastafarian word that means many things but usually a deriviation of cool, nice, okay... As for the other erroneous stuff about Jamaicans in the novel (it's difficult to imagine a Jamaican 19 year old woman calling a white 47 year old Briton "pickney"), I guess it goes to prove that having the blood doesn't necessarily mean you understand the culture better than the typical outsider.
Rating: Summary: Cruel Britannia Review: I share a lot in common with Zadie Smith and was honestly expecting to love this book; I completely bought the hype and the comparison to Dickens thrilled me. I have to say though that Smith is no Dickens. Charles Dickens had compassion for his characters even when they were presented as caricatures. Zadie has the caricature part down but needs to work on the feeling. Such a cold cruel book, goodness. An author should have other things in mind when setting down to write a book, things besides proving how clever or better they are than the rest of us especially the poor losers who people their novels.
Rating: Summary: Ok Sure, It's Not Perfect, But..... Review: White Teeth, maybe despite a couple flaws and couple of slower sections, is an amazingly entertaining book. I can see you there was so much excitement about this novel before it even came out. Read the first five pages, and see if you're not laughing and actually caring about Archie. (I will tell you that if you don't find that section of the book interesting, just put it down. It's not a book for you.)What's great about it: The prose and dialogue is so quick, witty, ironic, etc... You get carried along by the humor of the ride, even if some of event in the scenes aren't your favorites. The characters are at times hilarious, sometimes maddening and sometimes loveable, and their situations are heartbreaking and life affirming. I know, that doesn't sound like it makes all that much sense. But I don't know that real life is all that much different. White Teeth is not for everyone's tastes (as you can surely see from the mixed reviews here), but I do think there's a little something to take away for everyone. I have to think of the last scene in the novel, which is so brilliant and funny and uniting (and which I don't think a lot of readers get to). White Teeth can be a fascinating look that the postmodern world.
Rating: Summary: Too much hype Review: I thought this book was more medicore than terrific. Smith is all over the place, with long stretches of commentary and a plot that goes nowhere. The most interesting characters are those from Bangladesh but all the characters from Jamaica seem like caricatures. The book really needs editing and I think if this would not have been a first novel, and author was not so young, the book would not have recieved half the praise it did.
Rating: Summary: Tabitha Ozturk Review: White Teeth by Zadie Smith was a book filled with the fictional stories of many people from many different times and of many races. It is a book fit for every age and any race. Zadie Smith uses a sharp sarcastic comedy that keeps you laughing at the worlds' gut-busting problems. White Teeth contains a truckload of philosophy and challenging ideas. Though the book wasn't all laughs, aside from its humor it dealt with various problems and shined a light on the many pitfalls in life. The book deals with war, love, suicide, religion, race, drugs, as well as many other issues. Smith goes full throttle into many controversial matters. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. It was one of the most hysterical novels I have ever read but it also made me stop and think. I cannot wait to read another of Smiths' enlightening novels.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful timely novel Review: This was a great novel! I read it while I was traveling and could not put it down. Zadie does a great job bringing out race relations and the difficulties often faced by immigrant parents trying to bring their children up in a culture that is not their own. Her writing was contemporary yet classic. I was very impressed with her accuracy and her ability to really give you a sense of her very human characters. I could see how some people might not appriciate it because the book focuses on subjects that aren't experienced by everyone, just people who grew up in interracial homes or homes with immigrant parents. There is no fairy tale, she recognizes that the world looks different from that angle and describes it with all it's beauty and ugliness very elegantly. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!
Rating: Summary: Sadie Review: I had a difficult time getting through the novel. I think more due to the fact that it is much dated for me at this time. I feel for it's time the book was a much better read. The author's background seems more interesting than her novel. It is worth the read.
Rating: Summary: Not as good as people say Review: "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith is about history, multicultural northern London, gender and the difficulties for people to understand eachother. This could have been an interesting novel but I wasn't too impressed. As there are too many characters figuring in the story I don't feel like I get to know anyone of them properly. They almost turn into stereotypes, unfortunatly. But I think Smith's talent is in her narration, the language is witty and expressive like a painting made by sparkling colors. So I would not be surprised to find better novels by her in the future.
Rating: Summary: A promising writer Review: "White Teeth" is an outstanding performance for someone who started on this book at the age of 21, on her last year at college. More than a million copies sold is a proof of its success. Her style is exuberant, witty, with clever and satirical overtones. Although Zadie Smith affirms that a book is a "suitable place for ethical enquiry," and she certainly touches on a number of issues (technology, science, religion), she never really takes a firm stand or attempts to elaborate on any of them in a profound way so that it would stand out as the cornerstone of her novel. What does the teeth metaphor really stands for? Her characters are funny, entirely familiar, and sometimes overfetched. They are not heroes, but rather comic stereotyped players in a multicultural environment. The main players are individuals in desperate search of cultural identity, of roots, of auto-affirmation. In the process they are driven to radical outlooks, whether in religion, militarism, science, or social activism. The structure of the novel as a whole lacks a pivotal string to hold all the pieces together, and the ending is poorly crafted. There is no doubt Zadie Smith is a gifted writer, whose talent nevertheless requires further polishing and maturity. It is a set of teeth, albeit beautiful, in need of braces!
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