A review by wayneg
The Fraud by Zadie Smith

adventurous funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

To find the Titchbourne case as a metaphor for Trumpism/populism is the imagination of a great novelist. And there are some great parts to this novel as she tries her hand at historical fiction. She is adept at evoking the sense of what we now see as important historical events - the passing of the Reform Act, Peterloo, the Cato St conspiracy, Chartism not to mention the tentacles of slavery - might have been experienced by those peripheral yet sympathetic to those events. Similarly, her sketching of the literary lions of early 19th century England, their transformation into successes and failures and the impact of age and experience is brilliant. And this is a novel about slavery, which isn’t about  slavery, while at the same time being entirely about slavery. However, I found that the central characters disappointed. Mrs Touchet, I couldn’t quite get a handle on. Smith wants to her to bear so much I just couldn’t get this restrained Scottish Roman Catholic as also a lesbian, adulteress, political radical, novelist etc, it’s asking too much of her. And Andrew Bogle is too light, he didn’t for me carry enough emotional punch.