Reviews tagging 'Racism'

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

26 reviews

isal's review

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Cursing, and Gun violence

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The way that Zadie Smith writes people is uniquely complex and compelling. I was surprised at the depth of my hatred for these characters and then by the equal depth of my sympathy and appreciation for the same characters. (Neena was the only character who escaped without hatred from me. And niece of shame is a kickass nickname.) Their convoluted natures and equally, if not more, convicted relationships with each other were the thread that tied the whole novel together and made the ending of it feel like something more than it was—though I would’ve liked to know even more. Some of the scenes of prejudice in this book wrenched a visceral reaction from me, especially in the casualness of their presentation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Racism, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Islamophobia

nelliecdownie's review

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

riverofpages's review

emotional funny reflective slow-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

4.0

The writing is excellent. This book is for you if you appreciate wordsmithing. It’s not for you if you’re looking for a light read. The author has a way with words and so she sometimes spends entire pages on an idea that could’ve reduced to one paragraph. Worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Homophobia

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 against another edition

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

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

bookishplantmom's review against another edition

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

4.5

This was one beautifully written piece of fiction. It’s no wonder this became an instant classic. The topics explored in the novel are expansive and the discussion is presented with commendable nuance and intricacy. Parts 2 and 3 (Samat and Irie) were my personal favourites. I loved how the author tied everything back to Archie in the end as well. Beautiful! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia

oraclebykittie's review

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

SHOWSTOPPING INCREDIBLE NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. but seriously i think zadie smith writes in a way that brings so much life and interiority to ever single character introduced in this book, it is mesmerizing. the prose is a rlly engaging mix of meaningful and funny, and neither half conflicts the other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Misogyny and Pregnancy

fionac326's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia