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Title: Inspired, Erratic, Promising, Clunky First Effort
Review: White Teeth is an exploration of race, genetics, belief and family set mostly in the eighties and early nineties with flashback to WWII and the seventies.Zadie Smith has a pungent, comic style that is readable but not moving. I was intrigued by Millat, Samad and Joyce but didn't really care about them.The book displays deep knowledge of race and of being nonwhite in England but I found its forays into "science" murky and unconvincing.As a whole, the book fails to provide a convincing narrative or to develop its characters. Archie, whose attempted suicide opens the book, is sadly neglected.However, there are some wonderful moments such as Archie's discovery of his future wife, Samad's struggle with lust and Joyce Chalfen's obession with Millat.I can't recommend the book but I wouldn't be surprised if the author improves with age and ends up writing a book I heartily recommend.
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