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Title: Disappointing
Review: After having read "White Teeth" a few years ago, I was anticipating another novel of similar caliber. What a disappointment!While she acknowledges up front that it is written as an hommage to E.M. Forster- the storyline is needlessly convoluted in order to mirror the plot of "Howard's End". What's worse are the underdeveloped, frustratingly shallow and across the board uninteresting characters- at the end of the book the reader doesn't particularly care what happens to any of them. I gather the intent was to examine personal relationships through the lens of larger scale issues of class, race, gender and aesthetic- but to say that she falls short is a gross understatement. It just feels so contrived- the dialogue- the meandering plot- the lifeless characters- all of it. This is definitely not a novel that will transport you into the story. It was a complete waste of time to read (I am kicking myslf for buying it in hardback)-and such a let-down after having read Ms. Smith's other work.
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