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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
3.5
Not sure if it was my mood or the length of the book but sometimes was hard to be totally absorbed. Nevertheless it is an interesting story with complex characters.
Not sure if it was my mood or the length of the book but sometimes was hard to be totally absorbed. Nevertheless it is an interesting story with complex characters.
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
a bit of a trudge at times (about two rival academics so the language is very ~intellectual~) but still a good read
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Zadie Smith offers an in depth analysis into the lives of a mixed race family battling a variety of life challenges. I enjoyed how Smith followed a variety of topics throughout different characters viewpoints and interactions. It is a beautifully written book with lots of insight into professor life, complex romantic relationships, race, politics, disagreements, and hope.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I quite enjoyed this story. Smith explores themes of race, sexuality, class and so forth by providing intertextual references to Forster's Howard's End. This provided a though-provoking dimension to the novel. Furthermore, Smith centers her narrative in an intellectual setting, and as such explores the multitude of definitions to 'beauty'. Sexist comments and detailed studies of art are thus primal aspects to this text. The additional comparison of Britain and American was also interesting. However, I thought the second half of the plot took the theme of 'beauty' a little too far by adding multiple affairs and fights.
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Abandoned p. 79.
***
I'm only on page 52 but my head is hurting. This book is busy. Really busy. I'm enjoying the story (with its funny yet biting take on race, class and academia among many emerging themes) but the writing is so noisy. It's like when the commercials come on TV and blare at you and you can't think. I'm undecided whether to continue. I like Zadie Smith a lot. And anything that puts UK and US cultures together in a witty way appeals to me. I'll give it a few more pages and then see. This is supposedly loosely based on E. M. Forster's "Howards End" but I don't remember getting a headache from that one...
***
I'm only on page 52 but my head is hurting. This book is busy. Really busy. I'm enjoying the story (with its funny yet biting take on race, class and academia among many emerging themes) but the writing is so noisy. It's like when the commercials come on TV and blare at you and you can't think. I'm undecided whether to continue. I like Zadie Smith a lot. And anything that puts UK and US cultures together in a witty way appeals to me. I'll give it a few more pages and then see. This is supposedly loosely based on E. M. Forster's "Howards End" but I don't remember getting a headache from that one...
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes