Reviews tagging 'Racism'

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

29 reviews

e11en's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

It’s so hard to rave about a book when you arrive to the party 25 years late… everyone is probably thinking “well, duh!” But… what 👏 a 👏 book 👏

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

challenging funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was long, spanned half a century and followed three families - and it never got boring. The characters are all so vivid and unique, the prose is so witty, and the social commentary is *chef’s kiss *. It showcased the cyclical nature of human life & history in an amazingly accurate way, as well as the lives of people with different ethnic and religious backgrounds. It taught me a lot about the inner workings of people I rarely meet in my day-to-day life, as well as English culture, and it was a lot of fun. 

I did feel like it was maybe a tad too long, and that certain histories of people we meet could have been left out. I’m also not a big fan of the slurs that were used; sometimes they made sense for the characters, but at others it felt more like a sign of the times when this book was released. It is over twenty years old now, after all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

hannahp181's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I had so many mixed emotions about this book! I confess, I found it difficult to sustain around the middle when I felt like I'd been reading forever and was only half way through, but then the second half flew by! By the end I absolutely loved it - such an incredible exploration of people thrown together in one place at one time - felt like the Middlemarch or Great Expectations of its time. Like these classics, it at times felt very slow-pacer and rambling, but then I think this was sort of the point - to focus on the characters and their interactions rather than the plot - and once I started to consider it in this way I enjoyed it immensely. Almost want it go back and read the whole thing again - plus I thought the ending was fantastic! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

r_zoner's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Suicidal thoughts

lanid's review against another edition

emotional funny

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and War

noahsingh's review against another edition

2.0

reaaally don't get why people love this book, it's super Islamophobic and also why does Zadie Smith hate fat people so much.... Get a grip

Also frustrating ending with no real closure re: the marriages, the twins, etc 

soooo many things I disliked about this but saving a Nazi twice as a plot point really killed me what is this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Islamophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Cultural appropriation

nova123's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

it was kind of good but I also felt ĺike I was not intelligent enough for this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Gun violence

carolinebl's review against another edition

funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

My main complaint is that the end should have been longer! Such a build up just to finish without clarity.

I loved the scale of this novel, and as Smith’s debut it is especially impressive; I look forward to reading her later work. It is an interesting picture of Britain at the millennium.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt

Minor: War

saskiahill's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, and Mental illness

bethvance's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Infertility, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and War