Zadie Smith's White Teeth: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

Rating:
Summary: A refreshing piece of Lit Crit
Review: Before I'd read the book, this seemed like a dubious enterprise. Surely 'White Teeth' is too recent to reward (or deserve?) this kind of close critical attention. But in fact, this short book works well because of its chronological proximity to its subject, and you get a genuine sense of the author's enthusiasm for the novel - an enthusiasm that I share.

Briefly, this book consists of a chapter that sketches the pertinent details of Zadie Smith's career so far; a chapter that engages fully with the themes and qualities of the novel; a couple of chapters that look at how the book was reviewed upon publication and how it performed initially; and a concluding chapter that contains a wide selection of Discussion Points and a surprisingly thorough bibliography. Ms Squires is particularly good at illuminating Zadie Smith's stylistic techniques, and is also refreshingly well-researched on the novel's history in terms of its publishing life (agents, deals, marketing, etc).

I was not aware of this series ('Continuum Contemporaries') until I stumbled across this particular volume on Amazon. If the other volumes are of the same high standard, I will be impressed.

Rating:
Summary: White Teeth
Review: Great book. Very vivid descriptions of language, character and the family structure of non-native society in London. I feel that this book could explain the conflict any transplant could experience in a foriegn land.
It almost explains, though, that once you have tasted the western world, there is no going back.
Didn't care for the ending, though-- too much like a Wes Anderson movie where the players all congregate toward one spot rather unnaturally.
If you desire wit, involved reading and changes in eras, White Teeth is definitely for you.

Rating:
Summary: Uh, okay.
Review: If you require a guide to Smith's execrable 'White Teeth', then I regret to inform you that you are too stupid to live.