White Teeth

new addition to the ‘favourite books of all time’ list

Family saga meets historical fiction. This book is up my alley. It focuses on the lives of two families intertwined by the friendship of two very different men who met as soldiers near the end World War II. Zadie Smith's writing in this book is so hilarious yet somehow tragic and intimate; it's as if she has encountered these characters and situations in her life before. There are many strong themes in this book such as religion and immigration. Smith manages to reveal the relentless journey and lives of immigrants in the United Kingdom while looking back at the history of British colonization in India and Jamaica. “Never let your country become a trading post.” This ability to go back and forth in time allowed me to truly reflect on how colonization has impacted both families. What I find striking with this book is her way of showing the valid existence of intergenerational trauma; a past that continues to haunt them. "You must live life with the full knowledge that your actions will remain. We are creatures of consequence... [b]ecause this is the other thing about immigrants: they cannot escape their history any more than you yourself can lose your shadow." This book felt personal at times, especially when there were conflicts between second generation immigrants and their parents about various things. These conflicts are usually rooted on cultural clashes and opposing values. Though bonded by blood, it is common for older generation parents to hold contempt over their westernized children and vice versa. This keeps the debate open between nationalism and assimilation. White teeth symbolizes many things; every time it's mentioned, it anchors you back to what I think Smith wants to convey with this book—the reality of racism, assimilation, and the privilege of whiteness. Smith was also brave enough to show the extremities of religion — from radical Islamic groups to Jehovah Witnesses' belief on Judgement Day. Through the characters, she was able to offer a critical eye on how religion plays a role in people's concept of morality and fate. On the other hand, she does not deny the power of religion in helping individuals belong, believe in something, have faith, and conquer difficulties they weren't able to comprehend at the time. "If religion is the opium of the people, tradition is an even more sinister analgesic, simply because it rarely appears sinister." I do think this book was a tad too long. I also wish there was more focus on Alsana and Clare. Both matriarchs were a joy to read, and I wanted more character introspection and growth from them. However, I enjoyed the addition of another family at the end (The Chalfens) and laughed at how ridiculous they were. What really hits home for me is the perseverance of these immigrants and their desire to belong and not merely tolerated despite how dysfunctional their lives may seem. “And it goes to prove what has been said of immigrants many times before now; they are resourceful; they make do. They use what they can when they can.” It's impressive that this book was published 20 years ago and still remains relevant today. It goes to show the "wicked lie... that the past is always tense and the future, perfect." A classic I recommend to anyone.

Though it’s a bit meandering at times, this is so vibrant and fun! A beautiful story about family.

“If someone asked her just then what memory was, what the purest definition of memory was, she would say this: The street you were on when you first jumped in a pile of dead leaves … with every fresh crunch came the memory of previous crunches. She was permeated by familiar smells … she was moved by these sensations.” I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to dive into Zadie's writing but here I am. I really liked the narration of multiple characters. If you didn't enjoy or agree with one viewpoint, you had another one to dive into. The mastery of vernacular, slang, wordplay, and voice is so definitely strong within Zadie. White Teeth’s main focus is culture clash; between religions, countries of origin, the sexes, and generations. It’s not so much that she offers solutions to these clashes, but points out the very hypocrisy in the way people treat and regard each other, alarming us into taking notice next time we start to slip into such cynicism and anger.

(3.5 stars)

another one of those books that keeps getting interrupted by other books.. but i will finish this book!! i am determined to.. from what ive read- its definitely laugh-out-loud-east-london-funny!!

The end chapters dragged, and then suddenly it's the climax and the ending rushing in together and it's all over. Huh? Hmm. Okay, well, I guess that will work.

Two days to read the first half, two months to read the second. Ugh.

i loved this book!!!! reading shouldn’t be this fun

No. Snobs are jerks.

An interesting exploration of the intersection of cultures, detailed and dialogue heavy. Went on a little too long to keep my attention.

Wow, I really wanted to like this book, and I did until about 35% of the way through. And then it got repetitive and pontifical and had way too much internal dialogue at the expense of plot. So no thanks. And too bad because the first third or so had me rapidly turning the pages to see what came next. The introduction of the characters was interesting, and the set up was equally compelling, describing the milieu of multi-cultural London, and Smith does have a message, buried in all those words that an editor should have trimmed back. I struggled to finish it because of the ultimately predictable and repetitive scenes. In the first several pages about the Chalfens, she had made her point about liberal, highly-educated white people, but she couldn't stop beating drum for another fifty pages. Same for street-wise East Asians. See the following for a review that mirrors my thoughts: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is a book in which about 6 things happen and only half of one is interesting.

4.5

“Dentes Brancos” é uma obra poderosa, carregada de significados impossíveis de decifrar numa única passagem. É uma obra imensamente rica porque pede não mera reflexão mas diálogo em busca dos significados pretendidos e dos que cada um de nós leu, interpretou e sentiu. Mas não sendo eu grande fã de simbolismos, ou melhor das ultrainterpretações a que dão azo, tenho de dizer que aquilo que primeiro me seduziu em Zadie Smith foi a sua escrita, que Quinn muito bem definiu no New York Times como: “exuberante pirotecnia verbal”. [para ler a análise com imagens e links, aceder a https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/...] Pela sua qualidade estilística Zadie está na, minha, galeria de escritores ao lado de Jonathan Franzen e Philip Roth, embora para a maioria da imprensa esteja ao lado de Salman Rushdie. Impressionando, impacta verdadeiramente quando percebemos que “Dentes Brancos“, primeira obra, foi publicada em Janeiro de 2000, quando tinha 24 anos, e segue quando descobrimos que esta surge de um primeiro manuscrito datado de 1997, com 21 anos, que lhe valeu um contrato em redor das 250,000 libras. A idade impressiona, e houve quem qualificasse Zadie como uma daquelas crianças hiperativas que se revela cedo demais, correndo o risco de se perder no futuro, mas em 2017 sabemos que tal profecia não se concretizou, Zadie publicou desde então mais 4 romances, um dos quais, “Uma Questão de Beleza”, já aqui dei conta antes com nota máxima. Impressiona-me particularmente já que Zadie nasceu um ano depois de mim, o que me dá uma perspectiva muito próxima do que terá sido necessário para atingir este nível. Zadie é talento em bruto, mas não chega, o qualificativo de hiperatividade não é descabido, já que foi preciso investir muito do seu tempo em leitura, em introspeção e escrita. Produzir um texto desta magnitude com vinte e poucos anos não está ao alcance de muitos de nós, pode faltar talento mas falta acima de tudo o amor e a dedicação que Zadie depositou na literatura. Em termos temáticos Zadie usa “Dentes Brancos” para ir ao fundo das complexidades familiares, raciais, colonizadoras e culturais da Inglaterra contemporânea. E se o livro terá impactado em 2000, o Brexit em 2017 veio tornar ainda mais relevante tudo o que nele se discute. Temos numa mesma narrativa, mais de 150 anos de história, três gerações e várias ex-colónias britânicas. A Jamaica, o Bangladesh e a Índia são chamados para a mesa inglesa, e o diálogo torna-se explosivo, multicolorido, dando a conhecer a essência da multiculturalidade. Zadie introduz temas como a 2ª Guerra Mundial, a eugenia, as religiões, a ciência, o livre-arbítrio, o suicídio, colocando toda uma constelação de personagens a questionar o propósito da vida. O propósito é aquilo que torna o resumo do livro tão difícil, e os personagens tão diversos e realistas podem afastar-nos mas Zadie usa uma forma inteligente de nos aproximar de tudo e todos, o "humor sério". Não sendo eu grande apreciador de comédia, tenho de dizer que ri, gargalhadas espontâneas, imensas vezes ao longo da leitura, com o modo como tratando assuntos sérios e complexos, os personagens, cada um dotado das suas lógicas e crenças culturais, questionam o mundo. Todas estas temáticas só são possíveis pelo contexto que envolve Zadie, as suas raízes. Filha de mãe negra, imigrada em 1969 da Jamaica para Inglaterra, e de pai branco britânico, em segundo casamento. Com dois meios-irmãos e dois irmãos mais novos, e uma adolescência marcada pelo divórcio dos pais, que a levou a mudar o seu nome original, de Sadie para Zadie. Este contexto parece ter servido de ebulição à criatividade que viria a demonstrar na universidade, no King's College em Cambridge, onde daria nas vistas com pequenos contos, e conseguiria então captar o interesse para um contrato de primeira obra. Voltando ao início, o livro está carregado de símbolos. Não são necessários decifrar para se compreender a história, para se sentir prazer na leitura, mas instigam-nos a ir mais fundo, assim como separam o livro do mero historiar de aventuras familiares de raças diferentes. Elevam o sentido da leitura e explicam porque a literatura continua tão relevante enquanto arte, já que consegue não apenas fazer-nos passar bons momentos, mas ao mesmo tempo ensinar-nos, contribuindo para o edificar da nossa base civilizacional. E assim, mesmo não sendo particularmente fã da ultrainterpretação simbólica, não quero deixar de destacar aqui o sentido do título da obra. Como disse, existe muito mais nas páginas do livro, tal como o RatoFuturo, o KEVIN, ou o Dr. Doença, que poderiam por si dar origem a páginas e páginas de reflexões, e que terão já dado múltiplas teses de mestrado. Mas porquê “Dentes Brancos”? Tenho de confessar que as ideias que passo a explorar não são originariamente minhas, surgiram de várias leituras (ligações: a, b, c, d, e), que me permitiram, como disse por via do diálogo e confrontação de ideias, chegar uma interpretação que satisfez a minha leitura e o meu mundo. Os “Dentes Brancos” surgem ao longo do livro várias vezes, mas sem conotações concretas, do impacto visual dos seus estragos (uma personagem não tem todos os dentes da frente), contrastando-se com o excessivo cuidado na sua limpeza (um dos personagens lava os dentes 5 a 6 vezes por dia). Como se os dentes tivessem uma relevância de classe, capaz de marcar a diferença de cultura e até de raça. Contudo, o mais significativo não surge nas páginas, temos de chegar lá por analogia, pela construção discursiva que nos une. Sendo um texto defensor do multiculturalismo, o que costumamos dizer é que a cor da pele na conta porque debaixo da mesma, corre o mesmo sangue vermelho. Ora dentro das nossas bocas estão também os mesmos dentes brancos, iguais para todos mas ao mesmo tempo diferentes, tão diferentes que são usados para identificar os restos mortais de corpos muito deteriorados. Ou seja, na igualdade podemos encontrar a diferença, e juntas contribuem para definir aquilo que somos. Não somos apenas iguais nem apenas diferentes, somos singulares, e por isso é fundamental preservar e acarinhar as raízes, as mesmas que garantem o branco dos nossos dentes. Análise publicada no VI https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/...

This is a huge story

four stars!! this was objectively one of the best books i've ever read (emphasis on the ‘objectively’). the prose was excellent and so witty, and i love how cleverly smith uses classic references (e.g. david copperfield, forster, nabokov, othello) without making it glaringly obvious or using allusion for allusion's sake. it's clear that the novel as a whole is extremely well-researched, and all of the characters, but particularly the twins, are so very loveable, a direct result of the brilliant narrating style. and everyone’s so, so human--you feel archie's pain, irie's want to be loved, and clara's desperation so vividly and so acutely. it not-very-subtly talks about social issues, but in a way that’s humorous and more matter-of-fact, and rather than making it the surface focus of the novel, it’s one of the stronger underlying themes, which is always refreshing. four instead of five stars because even though the prose was just perfect, it didn't make me feel anything emotionally in the way my other favorites have. but seriously. this book was so good.

initially, what i found intimidating about this book was its length - which is ridiculous because earlier this year i read "jonathan strange & mr norrell". but i guess "white teeth"'s formatting into a near 550 pages little tome with a tiny font created some kind of a mental barrier that i could not get over.

one sunny sunday afternoon later and i am prepared to give the novel a standing ovation.

"white teeth" is a fantastic colourful portrait of multi-cultural london showing it as it is - unglamorous but full of humour (and the novel did get several general chuckles out of me). the lives of the rich cast of characters are told with a lot of wit but also with a lot of heart and without judgement which is what makes smith's prose truly standout.

as smith's debut novel, the book is not without its flaws (for me, it tended to drag at places) but it is easy to see how and why it has carved zadie smith's name into the canon of contemporary british literature.

Great book. Funny and intense, with philosophical themes.

"белые зубы" зэди смит продолжают старую добрую традицию семейных саг. будденброки, руггон-маккары, буэндиа, форсайты, а теперь еще и джонсы, икболы и шалфены, хороший, между прочим, рецепт "как создать интересный роман"; смена эпох и поколений, множество персонажей, смещение фокуса - всё это делает текст плотным, насыщенным и захватывающим. не люблю кулинарных метафор применительно к литературе, поэтому скорее готова сравнить "белые зубы" с тёплым морем, в котором ходишь поплавать каждый вечер на закате, такое скромное, но гарантированное удовольствие no matter what страдания черных женщин во имя красоты, вечный бой пакистанских мужчин с физиологией, свидетели иеговы против Темной Стороны Силы, вся правда о том, зачем мальчики идут бороться за права животных, солёный ямайский говор, щедро удобренный словом fuck - в общем, немного более другое лицо старушки грейт британ, и честное слово, это действительно смешно

Too “all over the place” to even finish. Not my favourite read

Didn't like it at all, boring story.

4.5* This book was so good but it's not for eveybody. If you're looking for a fast-paced action-packed read better go check another one. This is a character driven story, full of so many different and well constructed personalities. They feel very real 'cause they are not perfect, on the contrary, they make a lot of mistakes. We witness the different paths and decisions they must face and the book offers an insightful commentary on important issues such as racism, immigration, identity, religion and belonging. I absolutely looooved Zadie's witty and ironic sense of humour and I think she made a wonderful job with her female characters. They're strong and determined and the book screams of women power. Also, what an ending! The only issue I had with it, is the fact I really enjoyed some of the character stories while I didn't care that much about others. But all in all I really liked it. Definitelty I'll be checking some more books by this author.

I feel bad about not liking this more. I think that Smith covers a lot of things that aren't usually talked about when it comes to immigration, religion, and cultural identity. And she did it in a way that could feel genuine to outsiders of those cultures. But there was just too much in the book. It starts with two men being friends in a war, and slowly expands to a generational tale. It just turned into too many characters and too many points of view. And we just get tossed to a new character and have to learn everything all over again. Then we jump, and you get so many characters involved that eventually it just feels like work to get through the stories rather than enjoying the story. But it kept having this underlying feeling that we were talking about important things and therefore needed to pay attention as much as possible. There were some awesome moments in this. But, they barely stick out over the stretches where it seemed like nothing happened, or not enough happened to justify the inclusion. And there are some plot points that I feel like were added for no real reason at all. Someone else said it reminded them of Casual Vacancy and A Prayer for Owen Meany. And I agree, it is very similar. Maybe this is a better read for a book club or literature class, because it seems to beg to be dissected in minute detail. Thankfully I can just mark it finished and move on.