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Bibi Verhagen
I would start with With Teeth and then On Beauty.
Ella
White Teeth for sure, its incredible. Finding Swing Time a hard slog, very disappointing.
April
I think it depends on your reading preferences. I love all of her works, but I know some friends who loved White Teeth and couldn't get through Swing Time or NW. White Teeth and On Beauty are similarly structured--family politics unfold across a canvas of social commentary on race, heredity, love, and gender. NW is more of a tryptych of intersecting stories, told in a really subjective, stream-of-consciousness style (great if you're into authors like Virginia Woolf). Swing Time is sort of a mix of these two forms--the central themes are heredity/legacy, girlhood, motherhood, and self-perception in the age of mass communication, but they come together across a really broad stage and intricate plot, which might be why some readers found it difficult (I still loved it, but I can see that criticism).
Emily Bloor
I would suggest starting with White Teeth. I am finding Swing Time a little hard to chew.
Margaret
I would start with On Beauty.
Lori
Start with White Teeth and On Beauty.
Valentina
I liked NW the most.
Jill
On Beauty was my favorite book. Did not like Swing Time, it doesn't match up to her other books.
Bill
I just finished Swing Time, my first Zadie Smith book. I liked, but did not love it. I really enjoyed Smith's writing but the story didn't really grab me and I think there's a decent amount of fluff that could be safely excised.
I do plan to read more of her work and am particularly keen to read her non-fiction.
I do plan to read more of her work and am particularly keen to read her non-fiction.
E
On Beauty is the best starter
Linda Wells
White Teeth!
Karen
White Teeth and NW are my favorites - I would start with one of those. ( I am in the middle of Swing Time, and I don't like it as much as her other books...but I am giving it time!)
Louise
It doesn't matter which one you read first White Teeth or On Beauty, they are both wonderful books.
Donna
I started with White Teeth, now reading Authograph Man.
Ali Yigithan
None of the books are related so I think swing time would be ok to start to zadie smith books
Hilary
I am really enjoying Swing Time. More than I have enjoyed any of her books since White Teeth. Opinions seem to vary. I guess I enjoy her writing most when she writes about the places I lived as a child.
Zarifa
It doesnt matter. She is brilliant no matter what. The only one I found "different" and a bit less enjoyable to read it Autograph Man.
Yvanna Kroitor
Haven't read white teeth yet it sounds like I should have. I loved on Beauty and - not having read Swing Time or White Teeth yet my bet is to go with them first. One of the thing I love about prolific authors is watching their literary style evolve -sometimes for better an d sometimes for worse
Michelle
I have only ever read Swing Time and I really liked it.
Andrew Smith
This book was on long list for Man-Booker Prize. I read NW first but heard lot more about Swing Time than any of her others. She doesn't really tell a story in either of them but rather describes her characters life
Myrna
as others have suggested, i recommend starting with on beauty. swing time, regrettably, does noy come close....
M
Start with White Teeth.
Ana
Swing Time first then On Beauty to see how far she's come. Then The Autograph Man and White Teeth. Avoid NW until the last - that reads like beat poetry.
Chuan You
it's better if you can start with White Teeth first. Her later books build on the debut.
Richard Owens
I'm starting with this and loving it!
Natasha Natarajan
On Beauty or NW
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