Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Fraud

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Fraud by Zadie Smith

6 reviews

my_a'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? It's complicated

3.75

Not sure how to feel about this one. In some parts it was so enthralling; I did nothing but read it for a whole day. But from midway it dragged. The writing was so expert, but the plot went nowhere. The timeline jumps were hard to follow. But contained some really insightful remarks and comments about modern society. But I also struggle to understand with historical fiction based on real people, how much of this is just fan fiction and projecting?

It also felt quite deceiving as 75-80% of the book isn't about "The Fraud" (the Claimant's trial) at all. Most is a saga centred around Mrs Touchet, William, and their lives, including many literary guests. Literature itself and the creative endeavour was arguable an even focus to the actual Fraud/Trial. The book also claims it is set in Britain and Jaimaca, but this oversell the reality that only one segregated section is actually set in Jamaica. Again, I'd say 80-85% set in Britain, 15-20% set in Jamaica.

This is my 2nd Zadie Smith and it leaves me ambivalent about trying another - in both I have been in awe and captivated by the writing; but the meandering plot has caused me to lose interest and stop reading.

There you go, ambivalent is how I feel about this book. I have some positive snd some negative evaluations - with the writing itself and character Eliza Touchet bringing up my average rating.

Content Warnings

stellahadz's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced

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? It's complicated

3.5

This one took me a while to finish, partly because I had to put it down so I could finish other books that were coming due at the library, and partly because it is just a very slow-paced book, more so than I usually like. It took about 300 pages to get to what I thought was the more interesting part of the story (the chapters that focused more on Bogle and his experiences leading up to the trial), and the different characters' stories felt disjointed to me. I feel like Smith wanted to write a book about the Tichborne trial and a book about William Harrison Ainsworth and eventually decided to blend them into one story. Usually she writes these intertwined stories beautifully (I will never shut up about White Teeth being one of my favorite books ever), but this one didn't work for me. It probably doesn't help that I'm not a big historical fiction fan in general either, but overall this book wasn't my favorite. I did appreciate Smith's signature wit, subtle humor, and social/political commentary, though. It might be a book I have to reread in order to appreciate, so in that sense I am glad that I own the copy I read.

Content Warnings