Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - White Teeth

Listen... I wanted to love this, and when I started it I really did. But oh my god it DRAGGED. It provides excellent commentary and insightful ideas, but the narration (a bit holier-than-thou at times) really started to get on my nerves and I was begging for it to be over by the end of it. At over 500 pages of tiny font and huge paragraphs it's much longer than it needed to be. But I'm still giving it three stars because I'm glad I've read it and I would consider it to be a good book.

Content Warnings

linesiunderline's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is SO MUCH. It has so much life, so many themes, characters, layers… it’s a book you need to devote yourself to, not a casual kind of reading experience. I’m glad to have finally picked it up, but I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t effortful at times.

A few words to describe Smith’s debut:

Crowded

Meandering

Rich

Funny

Chaotic

Epic
Intimate

Because of the sometimes chaotic feel, I didn’t feel consistently connected to the narrative and there were moments when I had to knuckle down and push on to get to the next section. Still, I was ultimately rewarded by it all.

I’ve been mixed reviews on the ending, but I thought it was outstanding.

Content Warnings

hannahmcd94's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

4.5

It’s a slow book, and usually I wolf them down but I had to take my time with this one - which initially I thought meant it was bad but I was hooked. The level of detail and then the times where you just don’t know what character you’re going to be introduced to next and the world Zadie creates that you get sucked into. I mean, it’s a book with not much plot and you’re never really sure where it’s going but it’s brilliant the diverse range of characters she can write

Content Warnings

katewilson's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

samalabaster's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

alomie's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel like if I'd have read this when it was first published I would have thought it was an excellent comment on culture.
As it was I found it a real struggle to relate to it.
At its core I can see that it's objectively a good book, but i personally found it dated, which is weird but I think because it's set in recent(ish) modern times it just feels like looking at old pictures from the 80s and laughing at the perms and shoulder pads.
It was most definitely character driven and honestly the characters were for the most part infuriating.

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