Reviews tagging 'War'

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

15 reviews

nelliecdownie's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

ramreadsagain's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 Listen... I wanted to love this, and when I started it I really did. But oh my god it DRAGGED. It provides excellent commentary and insightful ideas, but the narration (a bit holier-than-thou at times) really started to get on my nerves and I was begging for it to be over by the end of it. At over 500 pages of tiny font and huge paragraphs it's much longer than it needed to be. But I'm still giving it three stars because I'm glad I've read it and I would consider it to be a good book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Sexual content

donkeykong's review

dark emotional funny reflective tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy

linesiunderline's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is SO MUCH. It has so much life, so many themes, characters, layers… it’s a book you need to devote yourself to, not a casual kind of reading experience. I’m glad to have finally picked it up, but I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t effortful at times.

A few words to describe Smith’s debut:

Crowded

Meandering 

Rich

Funny

Chaotic 

Epic
Intimate

Because of the sometimes chaotic feel, I didn’t feel consistently connected to the narrative and there were moments when I had to knuckle down and push on to get to the next section. Still, I was ultimately rewarded by it all.

I’ve been mixed reviews on the ending, but I thought it was outstanding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and War

sadiemclaughlin's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved how Zadie Smith would use fun and original formatting in this book to spice the otherwise slow paced story up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Xenophobia