Reviews tagging 'Violence'

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

10 reviews

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

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

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

sadiemclaughlin's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved how Zadie Smith would use fun and original formatting in this book to spice the otherwise slow paced story up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Xenophobia

afion's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism and Sexual assault

debookgeek's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

hannahmcd94's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

katewilson's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Antisemitism

samalabaster's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

alomie's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Gun violence