jayden_mccomiskie's review
3.0
I'd give this 3.5. I kept this novel to read last. It was still great.
mayankshah's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rajaraks's review against another edition
3.0
I don't particularly care for the main character, Alex-Li, but Zadie Smith's writing somehow made it enjoyable. Would I read this again? Probably not. Would I read any of her other work? Yes.
opheliabedilia's review against another edition
2.0
I am sad to be giving this book a low rating. This is the third Smith novel that I've read, and both White Teeth and On Beauty were pretty extraordinary, with the exception that Smith had trouble with plot endings in both. But in both, and particularly in On Beauty, I thought that no author I've ever read does a better job writing dialogue than Zadie Smith. And few can observe human interactions with the honesty seen in some of her passages. So, I have high expectations of her.
But this one took me forever to read, because I just wasn't enjoying it. So I read it only when I had nothing else that felt pressing to read, and it took months. The beginning was lovely, and so promising, and then... it just didn't happen. I didn't believe these characters, and she usually creates characters that are flawed in the way that humans are flawed, not in a way that feels like caricature, or a character just written in an attempt at humor. And the dialogue she's usually so amazing at was just affected much of the time. I will certainly read NW, and probably whatever else she writes. I still have very high hopes that she'll reach the potential she clearly, clearly has.
But this one took me forever to read, because I just wasn't enjoying it. So I read it only when I had nothing else that felt pressing to read, and it took months. The beginning was lovely, and so promising, and then... it just didn't happen. I didn't believe these characters, and she usually creates characters that are flawed in the way that humans are flawed, not in a way that feels like caricature, or a character just written in an attempt at humor. And the dialogue she's usually so amazing at was just affected much of the time. I will certainly read NW, and probably whatever else she writes. I still have very high hopes that she'll reach the potential she clearly, clearly has.
etaylorm's review against another edition
1.0
There is a reason this is Zadie Smith’s least-known book.
ruhh's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Ableism, and Addiction
ombudsman's review against another edition
4.0
much of the book was a genius evisceration of celebrity culture: the characters were all fully-fledged and interesting and played against a madcap and genuinely funny plot. however, at times it felt that smith did not trust the reader enough to keep track of her themes and so absolutely beat us over the head with certain motifs. ("the world is broken"/things being broken comes to mind - though i've come away from the autograph man with a deeper appreciation of kabbalah, i think that was solidified by about the second instance of "the world is broken".) conversely, some themes were underdeveloped - i was always expecting male friendship to come to a more satisfying conclusion, even if it only were to . if it weren't for this uneven pressure applied to the themes and motifs, this would definitely be a 5/5 read.
Spoiler
explore the homoeroticism of it, which was always bubbling around in the novelneil_denham's review against another edition
4.0
I love the way Zadie Smith writes, you can really feel the humanity of the characters, the emotions come across as authentic and there are no good/bad characters, all are a mixture. The first part of the book was the best part for me, the plot takes a rather unlikely direction, but even within that the emotions and responses of the characters are believable.