Sydney Salter
asked:
I have read thousands of books but this is one of only 2 books that i just could not finish as it irritated and bored me in equal measures. I asked all of my friends and colleagues and they have all told me that they did not finish it either!! Please help - what is the summary of the book? Please don't make me read it !
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White Teeth,
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Edwin Blair
I cannot wrap my head around on how a person who read 'thousands' of books could not grasp its essentials, (which are not new to literature nor life) presented in this book. I will concede that it was somewhat, of an over-ambitious undertaking for a writer's first novel. But the motifs were there very clearly, early and often. The main theme being CHANGE, freedom from the old outdated beliefs & traditions etc; with the intentions to find one's own identity, by escaping the labels and limitations placed on them through social constructs such as race, religion, social class, and status. The youth wanted to change, and so did the 'damaged' and in opposition, there was the traditionalist, the staunch religious and so on, who failed to see and accept that change is the only inevitable constant. These were all characters of very different backgrounds, of varying religions, and race in a country where it doesn't matter if you were born in it, they will still feel like foreigners and struggle with identity issues because of this leading them to seek change; forms to reinvent themselves to somehow fit in. Zadie Smith is one of these people, being multi-racial in the UK. She possesses an uncanny understanding of human nature and the human psyche which she expresses with humor, wit and refreshing insight. This is why pre-skimming even works of fiction are extremely useful and have always been suggested. You'll gain some understanding and direction of the work, and if you decided to read it, you'll do so with a purpose. And we all know its almost impossible to be bored at, lose focus of anything approached with a sense of purpose and preview of what you are about to engage in.
Carrie
I simply cannot relate to this review. Did you realize Zadie Smith is one of the top 20 most influential people in Great Britain? Her literature addresses so many contemporary issues around family, coming-of-age, religious variety, immigration, feminism, nepotism, and sincerity. This book has it all! She has researched a variety of topics, and uses either scathing sophisticated or boys locker room humor to convey sympathy for the human experience.
Isaac Baker
I'm curious about what irritated you. I found the prose delightful and the storylines fascinating. About halfway through right now and I find it very much worth the time.
Sue
Well said--equal parts irritating and boring. In fact, I read this book putting aside my usual "caveat emptor" armor and gave it a fair chance to live up to its blurbs--and yet it was a "no go" almost from the very beginning. The one thing I will give it is that the scene with the suicide interruptus ended with an extremely funny one-liner that set the whole plot off and running. If only the whole book had delivered, I could see her being praised. It should have been a short story-- and then it would have been a good read.
Chris Keightley
Sydney - I was going to review this book and I was going to write exactly what you have written. I am bored to tears by this book. I am half way through it and I am finding the characters to be exceptionally annoying, boring and self indulgent and the storyline is all over the place. Despite being an avid reader who commits to finishing books I just cannot get through this one.
Marie
Totally agree. Took me nearly a year to finish. This is what happens when dull writing tries to be clever.
Sydney Salter
Okay. So it's been a while....still not read the book. Never will.
Edwin. I assume the 'punctuation' was an attempt to cast aspersions on the 'real' number of books a person that could not appreciate this dull book has actually read. I do not apologise for not enjoying a book that for me tried much too hard to address too many issues in a clumsy overworked style. In my opinion it lacked direction and dynamics. There was false colouring of the characters so it was unconvincing as it had no depth or texture. Just because it won awards does not make it a pleasurable , rewarding or informative read for all. If it did there would be only one book and one writer. In that universe there would be no diversity of taste and that would destroy all creativity.
I think you may have identified my issue with the book when you said 'the motifs were there very clearly, early and often.'
I did 'grasp the essentials' and then as they were laboured again and again and again....I wanted to scratch my own eyes out.
I remember now...
If you haven't read it maybe take Edwin's advice - skim read it ...REALLY quickly then if it captures your imagination go back and read it thoroughly.
Bet you don't!!
Bet you pretend you've read it and go and find another book.
Sylvia- 'Goulds book of fish' was the second book. Ironic thing is that i have been given 3 copies of it. I have some very witty but cruel friends.
Carrie...ZS is NOT one of the "top 20 most influential people in Great Britain". I have no intention of naming the hundreds of thousands of people that are more influential than her but i do think that even for a real ZS fan this is a slightly ambitious number. I do wish her all the best in her future career however...happy reading.
If ZS does not help your insomnia I really do recommend Goulds Book of Fish. (that won loads of awards too so it MUST be good).
Nicola- googling it is just cheating. I WOULD be interested to hear your summary if you ever decide to read (and finish) 'the book'. See whether you can write a review of the first third of the book, then the second third and then the final third. That way others could jump in at a bit where that got up to.
Just thought. There is a fantastic collection of 'unfinished works'. Now this is sadly normally due to the death of the author or composer but in ZS's case it would give a totally different twist on the category.
All the best.
Stay safe
Edwin. I assume the 'punctuation' was an attempt to cast aspersions on the 'real' number of books a person that could not appreciate this dull book has actually read. I do not apologise for not enjoying a book that for me tried much too hard to address too many issues in a clumsy overworked style. In my opinion it lacked direction and dynamics. There was false colouring of the characters so it was unconvincing as it had no depth or texture. Just because it won awards does not make it a pleasurable , rewarding or informative read for all. If it did there would be only one book and one writer. In that universe there would be no diversity of taste and that would destroy all creativity.
I think you may have identified my issue with the book when you said 'the motifs were there very clearly, early and often.'
I did 'grasp the essentials' and then as they were laboured again and again and again....I wanted to scratch my own eyes out.
I remember now...
If you haven't read it maybe take Edwin's advice - skim read it ...REALLY quickly then if it captures your imagination go back and read it thoroughly.
Bet you don't!!
Bet you pretend you've read it and go and find another book.
Sylvia- 'Goulds book of fish' was the second book. Ironic thing is that i have been given 3 copies of it. I have some very witty but cruel friends.
Carrie...ZS is NOT one of the "top 20 most influential people in Great Britain". I have no intention of naming the hundreds of thousands of people that are more influential than her but i do think that even for a real ZS fan this is a slightly ambitious number. I do wish her all the best in her future career however...happy reading.
If ZS does not help your insomnia I really do recommend Goulds Book of Fish. (that won loads of awards too so it MUST be good).
Nicola- googling it is just cheating. I WOULD be interested to hear your summary if you ever decide to read (and finish) 'the book'. See whether you can write a review of the first third of the book, then the second third and then the final third. That way others could jump in at a bit where that got up to.
Just thought. There is a fantastic collection of 'unfinished works'. Now this is sadly normally due to the death of the author or composer but in ZS's case it would give a totally different twist on the category.
All the best.
Stay safe
Sylvia
don't worry....I couldn't as well read it as I found it very boring. I am also interested to know the end of the book ;)
Luan
Wow, this surprises me. I guess it's a matter of taste.
I found this book really entertaining and light, and at the same time really deep and just plain good. As an immigrant (though in a totally different situation as any of the characters) I could really relate and found that this was a smart, modern way to present the whole theme.
I read this in less than two weeks, sometimes over 100 pages in one sitting. I found it anything but dull.
I found this book really entertaining and light, and at the same time really deep and just plain good. As an immigrant (though in a totally different situation as any of the characters) I could really relate and found that this was a smart, modern way to present the whole theme.
I read this in less than two weeks, sometimes over 100 pages in one sitting. I found it anything but dull.
Michael
Old thread, but an important question: James Wood took to task Smith for the very reasons you probably didn't like the book yourself. Her response was, surprisingly, to become a better writer and write "On Beauty". Try that book instead. Everywhere I see "White Teeth" mentioned as one of the top books and can only explain it as crowd mentality. "Everybody says this is great book so I will too." "On Beauty" is five times the book. One of my favorites. “White Teeth” is a freshman effort — commendable but hardly one of the great books of the decade. With "White Teeth" it seems to me she was trying to channel Rushdie, which young novelists are allowed to with their favorite writers. Unfortunately, she was channeling his least desirable characteristics as a writer. If she had channeled "Midnight's Children" I might be able to get into a book like that.
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
The right book finds the right reader at the right time. Only then it's mutual love. If this one didn't strike you as a good read, just DNF: life's too short to read stuff you don't want to.
Some people referred to this author being top smth influential people, blah blah. Frankly, I don't think anyone should give a rat's ass whether anyone's top anything. All the more reason to DNF smth that everyone's read and gushed about (it's likely all hype, anyway).
Personally, it might have been the result of the author mixing every topic she could think of into what became a salad of diverse ideas. This style usually comes across as either cool (when the author CAN pull it off) or unstructured when the ideas hijack the book.
Some people referred to this author being top smth influential people, blah blah. Frankly, I don't think anyone should give a rat's ass whether anyone's top anything. All the more reason to DNF smth that everyone's read and gushed about (it's likely all hype, anyway).
Personally, it might have been the result of the author mixing every topic she could think of into what became a salad of diverse ideas. This style usually comes across as either cool (when the author CAN pull it off) or unstructured when the ideas hijack the book.
Darshani Workman
Sydney, there are thousands of works available to read. If this is not your cup of tea, don't force yourself. Give up entirely. Don't read it and don't try to figure out the summary either.
Paul
Well give the Masterpiece Theater film of White Teeth a chance if you can find it. Although the book was much better the film was fantastic. The actor that portrayed Archie was in the film Quadrophenia featuring the Who! And the actor that portrayed his Bangladesh friend Iqbal passed away not to long ago. Their performances brought the characters from
book to screen that was incredible.
book to screen that was incredible.
David Bouklas
I think there's an important distinction to be made between literature and books. If you're looking for just a page turning, plot oriented romp, I get why this wouldn't do it for you. And on the contrary, this opinion seems absurd to anyone with a taste for a challenging exercise in style and tone. It's good that at least you gave it a shot.
Kristi
I know this is an old post but I am really struggling to get into this book too. I don't like Samad, he's a jerk, and the domestic violence, while bi-directional, was a real turn off. That said, I really enjoyed Swing Time but am having trouble getting into White Teeth.
Nicola
I haven't read yet it but a 1 second google enquiry game me this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_T...
Michele Herrington
I was tempted to put it down. But I pushed through. I think there were too many characters. Just as i was becoming engrossed in some event or person, I was jerked over to someone else.
G Lee
I couldn't get thru 100 pages---didn't like Archie and Zadie's writing style.
Stephanie
I'm curious, what is the second book?
Martina
I agree - actually had been given this as a gift and was excited to read it but I couldn't finish it either. I was also bored and irritated by it. Happy to see I wasn't the only one!
Ron
The first 200 pages I had to force myself reading. What made me reading after that was the part where Samad was complaining that Magid did enjoy his stay abroad too much. Suddenly I grasped the meaning of the author. I added a new theme /technic in my password protected Word-doc: Law of Retention of Misery.
Later on, I added that Zadie Smith was creating an explosive substantion and some potential ignitors, slowly bringing them together.
Later on, I added that Zadie Smith was creating an explosive substantion and some potential ignitors, slowly bringing them together.
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