Negative Positive
Title: Not Very Good At All
Review: I can't believe this book got any good reviews. It is just plain awful. It looks like something that went from first draft to publishing with no editorial review in between. Her characterization of Americans and American speech patterns is ridiculous and quite annoying. Her American characters are caricatures -- for example why is Kiki obese? Oh, because women of color just get obese when they get older, no reason, no explanation, no delving into her character to understand why a sexy, happily-married woman would just balloon up to an unhealthy fatness. I really loved White Teeth. Ms. Smith should stick to writing about English people and their ways, and leave us alone.Finally, many of the newspaper reviewers talked about Howard's End and how it's such a reflection on it, etc. I didn't read Howards' End, so sorry, if that is what it takes to appreciate the book, than there should be something on the cover that says, "make sure you read Howard's End first."
Is the review positive or negative? 