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nesbeth22's review against another edition
5.0
At the close of WWII, two green British soldiers witness the meaningless deaths of their companions as a result of a tank malfunction. Samad, a Bengali-Englishman, and Archie, a vanilla Englishman (who later folds paper for a living) survive in the desert, pawning away their dead companions' medals. They wind up more starved for a sense of purpose than for food. Unaware that the war has just ended, they identify their enemy in one man, and resolve to kill him for the sake of sealing their identities as soldiers.
This event is the plot seed at the base of Zadie Smith's saga of the search for post-colonial identity. Offshoots of this event, like shrapnel, embed themselves into Archie and Samad, who marry and grow families that must digest their evolving histories in extremely idiosyncratic ways. I use the word post-colonial because colonial issues are discussed, but as Smith's story suggests, few things are ever really over. When does "colonial" ever really begin or end? As time wears on, Smith's characters illustrate the aching need that most people have for someone else to tell them who they are, aren't, or should be, whether it is a religion, a parent, a love object, an organization, or, in one character's case, a coin. It's tempting to avoid scrutinizing the thing or person that defines us for his or her uncertainties and struggles. But that is exactly what Smith's novel accomplishes; she tracks defining influences from one person to another, exposing foibles, weaknesses, and impulses.
With subject matter such as this, you'd expect a fairly bleak and cynical book. At moments I feel this is a fitting description (neurotic and deconstructive, at least), yet somehow the book earned description as "warm" and "big-hearted" from several critics. It has a warmth to it, I realize, in that Smith's narrator accepts her characters even as she strips them of dignity and certainty. A narrator with the comic voice of Smith's can only observe with such keenness as the result of empathy with any moment of mortification—an empathy that comes from firsthand experience. And it helps when that observation is coated in a tangy-sweet, teriyaki saucy wit. Bleakness is obviated in that Smith's world doesn't mean to crush her characters with misfortune like, say, the world of Steinbeck. Smith's world is fairly ambivalent to the happiness of her characters, but not disinterested; the situational irony strains plausibility at unexpected moments. Rushdie's influence is apparent at many points, though full-on magical realism never really breaks out.
The novel teems with realistic detail and quirky side-anecdotes. A delightfully unpredictable plot seeps in through breaks in otherwise nonstop wordplay and character development. Characters are at times slightly cartoonish in their monomania (but really, more cartoonish than people behave?). White Teeth was a slow burner for me. However, I issue five stars because I can already feel the wake of that richness knitting itself into meaningful connections, as I am sure it will continue to do months from now. Also, Smith and I seem to share an important core attitude: the best way to handle the universe's refusal to supply consistent meaning is to relish the little absurdities.
This event is the plot seed at the base of Zadie Smith's saga of the search for post-colonial identity. Offshoots of this event, like shrapnel, embed themselves into Archie and Samad, who marry and grow families that must digest their evolving histories in extremely idiosyncratic ways. I use the word post-colonial because colonial issues are discussed, but as Smith's story suggests, few things are ever really over. When does "colonial" ever really begin or end? As time wears on, Smith's characters illustrate the aching need that most people have for someone else to tell them who they are, aren't, or should be, whether it is a religion, a parent, a love object, an organization, or, in one character's case, a coin. It's tempting to avoid scrutinizing the thing or person that defines us for his or her uncertainties and struggles. But that is exactly what Smith's novel accomplishes; she tracks defining influences from one person to another, exposing foibles, weaknesses, and impulses.
With subject matter such as this, you'd expect a fairly bleak and cynical book. At moments I feel this is a fitting description (neurotic and deconstructive, at least), yet somehow the book earned description as "warm" and "big-hearted" from several critics. It has a warmth to it, I realize, in that Smith's narrator accepts her characters even as she strips them of dignity and certainty. A narrator with the comic voice of Smith's can only observe with such keenness as the result of empathy with any moment of mortification—an empathy that comes from firsthand experience. And it helps when that observation is coated in a tangy-sweet, teriyaki saucy wit. Bleakness is obviated in that Smith's world doesn't mean to crush her characters with misfortune like, say, the world of Steinbeck. Smith's world is fairly ambivalent to the happiness of her characters, but not disinterested; the situational irony strains plausibility at unexpected moments. Rushdie's influence is apparent at many points, though full-on magical realism never really breaks out.
The novel teems with realistic detail and quirky side-anecdotes. A delightfully unpredictable plot seeps in through breaks in otherwise nonstop wordplay and character development. Characters are at times slightly cartoonish in their monomania (but really, more cartoonish than people behave?). White Teeth was a slow burner for me. However, I issue five stars because I can already feel the wake of that richness knitting itself into meaningful connections, as I am sure it will continue to do months from now. Also, Smith and I seem to share an important core attitude: the best way to handle the universe's refusal to supply consistent meaning is to relish the little absurdities.
tracyreally's review against another edition
4.0
So smart, so well put together, and every scrap of detail served a purpose. (Also, I got my copy for Christmas 2005, according to the inscription from my dad. Took me awhile to pick it up!)
olliejudd00's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-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
4.75
kpdoessomereading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
4.0
rhl98's review against another edition
2.0
A little bit problematic - came across as an author who's angry at every type of person.
winnimartha's review against another edition
3.0
I liked parts of White Teeth, but it kind of lost me at some point along the way. I absolutely love Zadie Smith's writing style, so that alone made it worth reading, but I tend to prefer a tighter novel. Also worth noting that I was pretty distracted while I was reading and had to take some breaks, so I couldn't give White Teeth the focus it probably needed.
callie_w's review against another edition
challenging
funny
sad
tense
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
4.0
mollyadelman's review against another edition
5.0
okay this one had me laughing i can’t lie! but every character is so annoying i hate them (minus irie i guess) but the writing is so beautiful and i like it soooo much i must give it a 4.5. the characters and story are a little bit ass tho :/
aminaspages's review against another edition
reflective
medium-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
4.0
elissalynn's review against another edition
3.0
My husband recommended this book to me and I expected to like it much less than I actually did. Parts of this novel were wonderfully written and compelling to read, other parts were a trudge that I had to reread over and over. It was, of course, very well written. I did not feel that the ending tied up all of the loose ends, however...but I don’t know that I would have wanted the book to be any longer lol.