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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This was a genuinely funny book, which is hard to achieve in a novel without coming across as cheesy, especially while also proffering poignant and incisive insights about home, belonging, and the diaspora experience throughout. The text as a whole should have been better edited to tighten the prose overall, and the end veers chaotically towards something so dada-esque it begins to lose vibrancy and almost even loses the original threads of the narrative, but I'm nevertheless in awe of what Zadie Smith was able to accomplish here considering she wrote this while finishing her final year of university. I'm eager to read some of her later novels to witness her growth as a writer as I'm certain her skill, already impressive here, only improves with time and practice. This is certainly the work of a prodigious talent.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the okayest book that ever okayed. i truly wish i could have loved this more, because i dreamt of it for so long, but unfortunately....
i enjoyed the whole saga format it took, but i do think it was a bit long. halfway through i kind of figured the main surprise at the end, so i kind of just warred through the rest of 250 pages, kind of wishing it just got to the point. i loved the portrayal of immigrants, and this is still the most accurate portrait of Britain i've personally found in fiction.
i enjoyed the whole saga format it took, but i do think it was a bit long. halfway through i kind of figured the main surprise at the end, so i kind of just warred through the rest of 250 pages, kind of wishing it just got to the point. i loved the portrayal of immigrants, and this is still the most accurate portrait of Britain i've personally found in fiction.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Oooof, this book took me a few weeks to get through. It's a fantastic read, but I found myself putting it down for long stretches before returning to settle in for another chunk of pages. The ending is magnificent. I regret dragging out the reading because all those pages really do build into the perfect ending, and I fear I missed something because of my broken momentum. Overall, the characters are so splendidly developed. I miss them already.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A