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A review by lydiature_
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this is my 3rd book by smith and i can 100% say that i’m a fan now. it’s really hard to put my exact feelings into cohesive words, but i will try.
one thing to know about her books (at least for “white teeth” and “on beauty”) is that they’re all about her writing style. the characters are great but they’re not the point. the plot really isn’t either. in this book, the real star of the show is smith’s prose. it’s dense without being pretentious and stuffy. it’s funny without being annoying and obnoxious. it’s light without being empty.
no author that i’ve come across has mastered genuine dialogue like her. seriously. no matter the character and their nationality/ethnicity, she weaves their culture in the way they speak. she includes natural pauses. every character has their own way of speaking. if you blocked out a character’s name and showed me a piece of dialogue, i could immediately tell you which character is speaking. and i think that’s what she wanted. there is a dinner scene with the Chalftens, Irie and Magid about 60% through. at one point, smith stops mentioning who is speaking and let’s the characters just talk. by then, the reader has gotten to know each of the characters so it is very easy to distinguish who is speaking. not only that, we can pick up on the tensions between the characters. i don’t know about y’all, but i haven’t found an author that has pulled this off.
i know i said it before, but it’s honestly crazy how this was her FIRST novel. i 100% recommend this one. but don’t ask me if i love this more than “on beauty”, because my brain would combust.
god, i want to read everything this woman has written 😩
one thing to know about her books (at least for “white teeth” and “on beauty”) is that they’re all about her writing style. the characters are great but they’re not the point. the plot really isn’t either. in this book, the real star of the show is smith’s prose. it’s dense without being pretentious and stuffy. it’s funny without being annoying and obnoxious. it’s light without being empty.
no author that i’ve come across has mastered genuine dialogue like her. seriously. no matter the character and their nationality/ethnicity, she weaves their culture in the way they speak. she includes natural pauses. every character has their own way of speaking. if you blocked out a character’s name and showed me a piece of dialogue, i could immediately tell you which character is speaking. and i think that’s what she wanted. there is a dinner scene with the Chalftens, Irie and Magid about 60% through. at one point, smith stops mentioning who is speaking and let’s the characters just talk. by then, the reader has gotten to know each of the characters so it is very easy to distinguish who is speaking. not only that, we can pick up on the tensions between the characters. i don’t know about y’all, but i haven’t found an author that has pulled this off.
i know i said it before, but it’s honestly crazy how this was her FIRST novel. i 100% recommend this one. but don’t ask me if i love this more than “on beauty”, because my brain would combust.
god, i want to read everything this woman has written 😩