This morning on the bus, I finished reading Zadie Smith's
White Teeth. Yes, it's another book that I will be able to remove off the list.
This is the second book of Zadie Smith's that I have read and I would highly recommend her work to anyone who wants an interesting perspective on how ethnicity, race, politics and raw human emotion color our lives. In this book, she examines race and politics at many levels. The two first characters we meet are a white Englishman and a Bengali Muslim who are best friends. The story follows their families as both men wed, (the white Englishman to a black Jamaican). It explores how their children reflect the changing time and the way that newer generations view their racial backgrounds.
I am sure that many of the emotions of her character reflect her own background growing up in England with a Jamaican mother, but it is that raw honesty that I appreciated. I discovered that the book had been adapted for TV, so I will have to see if it's available for viewing.
She also explores in this book the many passions around religion. It was gripping and the ending took me so completely by surprise, but was so damn satisfying that I smiled as I read the last line. She truly is a brilliant writer and I look forward to reading many more masterpieces in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment