daisyvb 's review for:

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

3.0

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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A well crafted book by a really great author, but christ I am sick of reading pages and pages detailing the inner thoughts and lives of scuzzy men and all those unfortunate enough to be pulled into their orbit. Any chapters within the perspective of the women characters, or indeed that vaguely touched on their emotions and experiences was a welcome blessing, too often marred by the unavoidable presence of the men. Once you have passed the half way mark however, and are immune to the foul masculine habits by sheer exposure therapy, you can settle into the cast of characters now fully introduced and begin to inhabit their lives, played out so intimately within the pages. The final quarter of the book was my favourite as it felt like a high prestige soap opera, with everyone running around in the woods in a (horror) film or the cul-de-sac in the nightly telly offering; you know these people, you know the stakes, lets see what horrifically interesting chaos it will brew.