A review by katemdixon
The Fraud by Zadie Smith

slow-paced

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

2.5

I am sad to say I was disappointed with this one. It sounded so good, but I don’t think it was executed how I would’ve liked it, and after all a book has to have more than a good idea. First of all, I found it too complicated. There were so many characters and so many names, and I found most of them to be of no consequence at all. Complicated isn’t always a bad thing, but I don’t think this was done well. There were seemingly meaningless and random time jumps, which only added to the frenzied feeling and awkward pacing. Secondly, each chapter was probably only about three pages or fewer, so you only really spend one scene with a character before a needless break or another arbitrary jump in time. I was disappointed and found it just generally slow and laborious to read. It is the first Zadie Smith I’ve read, and I really wanted to like her work, so maybe I’ll read another of hers later.