White Teeth
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- Create Date：2022-05-15 08:52:14
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Zadie Smith
- ISBN：0140276335
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Summary
One of the most talked about fictional debuts ever， White Teeth is a funny， generous， big-hearted novel， adored by critics and readers alike。 Dealing - among many other things - with friendship， love， war， three cultures and three families over three generations， one brown mouse， and the tricky way the past has of coming back and biting you on the ankle， it is a life-affirming， riotous must-read of a book。
Reviews
Helen
，
Moving from intimate moments of private desires and contemplations， to comical， farcical descriptions of the characters as cariacatures。 Despite the absurdity of the storyline， it also points out human nature and our need to forge our own path （despite our parents ‘best intentions/wishes）， the friendships which evolve， that our roots are as important as we feel they are （not how others wish to define their importance）， and that heartache and joy are both a part of life。An additional note: the 20 Moving from intimate moments of private desires and contemplations， to comical， farcical descriptions of the characters as cariacatures。 Despite the absurdity of the storyline， it also points out human nature and our need to forge our own path （despite our parents ‘best intentions/wishes）， the friendships which evolve， that our roots are as important as we feel they are （not how others wish to define their importance）， and that heartache and joy are both a part of life。An additional note: the 2002 mini-series of White Teeth is pretty good， and sticks closely to the actual storyline 。。。more
Richard
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The plot is expansive but at the same time captivating
Neda
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Althought it is a novel with many characters， they are so well developed during the journey of their lives that you do not lose the thread of the story。 You remember eaach one of them when they reappear and surprise you。 I， particularly， like Alsana， her heroism， her humor as well as her practicaal intellicence。
Jack Deighton
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I almost certainly would not have read this if the good lady had not borrowed it from the nearest public library。 （We feel we have to patronise it as otherwise it may suffer the same fate of closure as our local one did a few years ago now。） She is on a project to read as many James Tait Black Memorial prize winners as she can。 White Teeth won it for 2000。 I’m glad I did read it though as it’s very well written。 If you were unkind you could describe it as a family saga but at the same time it is I almost certainly would not have read this if the good lady had not borrowed it from the nearest public library。 （We feel we have to patronise it as otherwise it may suffer the same fate of closure as our local one did a few years ago now。） She is on a project to read as many James Tait Black Memorial prize winners as she can。 White Teeth won it for 2000。 I’m glad I did read it though as it’s very well written。 If you were unkind you could describe it as a family saga but at the same time it is more specific and broader than that。 In addition it is peppered with living， breathing characters who appear overwhelmingly real to the reader， even in their contradictoriness。The main relationship in the book is that between Englishman Archie Jones and Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal， who met in the latter stages of World War 2， when they manned a tank in the Balkans。 After his immigration to Britain and arranged marriage to Alsana， Samad met up again with Archie and their friendship ensued。 The novel starts with Archie， depressed on his divorce， flipping a coin to decide his fate and subsequently meeting Clara Bowden， daughter of the half-Jamaican and very religious Hortense。 Archie and Clara soon marry and have a daughter， Irie。 Samad and Alsana have twin boys， Magid and Millat， of around the same age as Irie， who in adolescence moons after Millat。 Samad claims descent from Mangal Pande， the man who fired the first shot in the Indian Mutiny （and was hanged for his pains。） Samad says Pande wasn’t the fool that he has been portrayed as， that Pande couldn’t have been drugged up， but instead sacrificed his life in the name of justice for India。 Archie remains much more sceptical about the circumstances surrounding Pande’s actions。Samad berates himself for failing to live up to his Muslim beliefs - in particular for an affair with his children’s music teacher Poppy Burt-Jones - and as a result packs Magid off to Bangladesh to ensure he is brought up in true Muslim correctness。 Alsana doesn’t forgive him for this removal of one of her children and thereafter no longer speaks directly to him。 This gives the narrative a touch of comedy as does her description of a near relative as Niece-of-Shame。Samad’s stratagem fails， Millat has an attractive persona， women seem to find him irresistible， yet despite his many conquests， joins a fundamentalist Islam movement called Keepers of the Eternal and Victorious Islamic Nation （they are aware of the “unfortunate” acronym， KEVIN，） while in Bangladesh Magid becomes a rationalist and scientist。The lives of Irie and Millat become entwined with the middle-class Chalfen family， who have a philosophy of questioning everything。 Marcus is a genetics engineer and his wife Joyce is one of those people who is convinced she knows better than the people she is talking to what is happening to them and how they feel。 Teeth are mentioned infrequently。 A （minor） character says， “When I was in the Congo， the only way I could identify the nigger was by the whiteness of his teeth， if you see what I mean。 Horrid business。 Dark as buggery it was。 And they died because of it， you see？” Irie is ‘bitten’ by her mother’s false teeth one night when she knocks over her glass in the darkness。The novel of course interrogates the immigrant experience。 “‘Who would want to stay？” Samad says to Irie。 “Cold， wet， miserable food， dreadful newspapers – who would want to stay？ In a place where you are never welcomed， only tolerated。 Like you are an animal finally house-trained。 Who would want to stay？ But you have made a devil’s pact … it drags you in and suddenly you are unsuitable to return， your children are unrecognizable， you belong nowhere。’” Elsewhere he adds， “There is no one more English than the Indian， no one more Indian than the English。 There are still young white men who are angry about that。” However， “The fears of the nationalist， scared of infection， penetration， miscegenation，” are “small fry， peanuts， compared to what the immigrant fears – dissolution， disappearance …。。 In Jamaica it is even in the grammar: there is no choice of personal pronoun， no splits between me or you or they， there is only the pure homogenous I。” （Often spoken as ‘I and I。’） There are also warnings， “When an Englishman wants to be generous， the first thing you ask is why， because there is always a reason” and explanations， “It is not that he …。。 doesn’t love her （oh， he loves her: just as the English loved India and Africa and Ireland; it is the love that is the problem， people treat their lovers badly。）”The final scene in the book echoes back to the reason why Archie is forever flipping coins to make a decision and brought to my mind Sophie’s Choice， though Archie’s critical one had no potential devastating consequences for his immediate family。 。。。more
Nuria
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Muy bueno me ha gustado mucho me ha recordado a Middlesex de Eugenides
Tracey C
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3。5*
Natalie
，
It was certainly funny and creative with lots of fun characters， and I thought the ending was wonderful。 But for some reason that I just can't place， I didn't really enjoy and had to force myself to get through it。 Maybe just needed a bit more editing？ It was certainly funny and creative with lots of fun characters， and I thought the ending was wonderful。 But for some reason that I just can't place， I didn't really enjoy and had to force myself to get through it。 Maybe just needed a bit more editing？ 。。。more
P D
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Great story
Miori
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Когда， кроме крови， человеку больше нечем похвалиться， каждая ее капля имеет чудовищное значение и отстаивается с пеной у рта。 И почему я ожидала， что это будет большой роман？А， точно: девушка с ямайскими корнями в авторах， семейная сага в жанрах， куча премий за дебютную работу и интригующее название。 Увы， как-то не сложилось。Давайте начну с банальной жалобы — было скучно。 На протяжении всей книги практически ничего не происходит。 Даже если что-то и случалось （например， переезд одного из сыно Когда， кроме крови， человеку больше нечем похвалиться， каждая ее капля имеет чудовищное значение и отстаивается с пеной у рта。 И почему я ожидала， что это будет большой роман？А， точно: девушка с ямайскими корнями в авторах， семейная сага в жанрах， куча премий за дебютную работу и интригующее название。 Увы， как-то не сложилось。Давайте начну с банальной жалобы — было скучно。 На протяжении всей книги практически ничего не происходит。 Даже если что-то и случалось （например， переезд одного из сыновей главного героя）， оно отодвигалось на второй план。 На первом же всегда были они — беседы двух старперов в задрипанной индийской кафешке。 Мммм， продано （нет）。 Причем обычно я люблю диалоги， детали， атмосферу и вот это вот все。 И Зэди Смит дала атмосферу， бесспорно。 Но атмосферу такую неприятную， что роман перманентно хотелось закрыть， отложить， забросить。 Два главных героя идеально вписываются в этот дух романа или， наоборот， создают его。 Вынужденные друзья Арчи и Самад， унылый англичанин и истеричный бангладешец， два застрявших в рефлексии и отсутствии целей брюзжащих старика。 Пеняющих на войну， которую они толком даже не понюхали。 "Настоящие" мужчины， занимающиеся "настоящими" мужскими делами: есть， молиться， любить пренебрегать женами и детьми。 По факту же — немощные младенцы， настолько неинтересные， пустые， что наблюдать исключительно за ними и их мыслями добрую половину романа для меня было практически невыносимо。 Да， иногда нам показывали немного жен， намного более приятных и интересных как персонажи， но быстро задвигали их на задний план， выпячивая серость и заурядность глав их семейств。На протяжении первых трехста страниц я буквально молилась， чтобы действие переключилось на младшее поколение， но и их автор как будто бы умышленно прятала до последнего。 Возможно， это было сделано специально， чтобы показать атмосферу， обстановку， сформировавшую их характеры， их взгляды。 I get it。 Но мне как читателю было плохо и неприятно。 Романом пришлось не "проникаться"， а скорее "выносить"。Да самым экшоном в этой книге оказалась облава на курящих в школьном дворе марихуану подростков！ Даже главное переплетение всех сюжетных линий， результат этого мучительного нагнетания обстановки вынесли за скобки。 Никакого бабаха？ Даже в конце？ Это жестоко， Зэди Смит。Явление иммигранства в Британию в этой книге раскрыто， не могу не признать。 Но как-то на удивление пессимистично и даже злобно。 Такого ожидаешь скорее от толстого белого человека， чем от дочери иммигрантки。 Безнадега 80 левела， причем не столько в отсутствии перспектив для "понаехавших"， сколько в постоянном негативном изображении этих самых понаехавших。 После "Белых зубов" невольно да вырвется: и как таким-то сопереживать то？ С другой стороны， обозначенный в книге контраст иммигрантов и детей иммигрантов показался мне очень точным и интересным。Вообще， автор затрагивает очень много незаурядных мыслей， за которые можно зацепиться。 Например， ирония того， как один из героев приходит к Аллаху в Британии， при этом покуривая косяк， тогда как его отосланный в Бангладеш брат вместо обращения к корням проникается идеей "сделать дома по подобию Англии"。 Или застревание практически всего старшего поколения в прошлом: Самада — в истории прапрадела， Айри — в Чарли Дарэме， Алсаны — в обиде на мужа。 Можно действительно очароваться разнообразием фанатиков， которые， так похожи друг на друга， в какую бы "веру" не обращались。 Будь то классическая религиозность в нескольких ее проявлениях， или национализм， или одержимость наукой， или даже вегетарианство/защита прав животных。 Препарирование людей， которые закрываются одной простой парадигмой и не желают слышать ничего больше， писательнице тоже удалось。Тем не менее， этот серый и вялотекущий цирк мне совсем не по вкусу。 Я просто не понимала， зачем этот роман написан именно так， а не по-другому。 И действительно ли должен вызывать такое неприятие？ Судя по тому， что многие ценят эту книгу за остроумие и юмор — нет。Возможно， просто не зашло。 Так бывает。 。。。more
Francesco
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Libro spettacolare。 Peccato per il finale un po' frettoloso ed esagerato; per come scrive la Smith 100 pagine in più per finirlo meglio non sarebbero state affatto sprecate。 Libro spettacolare。 Peccato per il finale un po' frettoloso ed esagerato; per come scrive la Smith 100 pagine in più per finirlo meglio non sarebbero state affatto sprecate。 。。。more
Ken Ryu
，
Smith is a scholar， author and magician。 She introduces us to four extended families。 The primary action takes place during the 1980s and 90s in Birmingham， England。 Smith illuminates seminal events in the life of these clans to show us how these families arrived to this point in 1990s England。Smith's flashbacks tell of important events in history， including the 19th century scandal when the mighty Great British army erroneously used pig and cow fat to lubricate their guns。 The Muslim and Hindu Smith is a scholar， author and magician。 She introduces us to four extended families。 The primary action takes place during the 1980s and 90s in Birmingham， England。 Smith illuminates seminal events in the life of these clans to show us how these families arrived to this point in 1990s England。Smith's flashbacks tell of important events in history， including the 19th century scandal when the mighty Great British army erroneously used pig and cow fat to lubricate their guns。 The Muslim and Hindu soldiers from British-held India protested and revolted after this affront to their religions。 She sends us to the Eastern Europe front where Samad Iqbal and Archie Jones find themselves in the same 5-man tank assignment during WWII。 Through the tragedy and hardships of war， Samad and Archie develop a friendship that will last a lifetime。 Smith delivers a science course as well。 Samad's sons， Millat， and Archie's daughter， Irie， attend the same high school。 They become friends with their nerdy classmate Joshua Chalfen。 Joshua's father is none other than Marcus Chalfen， the scientist working on ground-breaking research in the field of genetic engineering。 Biology and race are used to understand the traits of Archie's much younger wife Clara nee Bowden。 Clara's mother， Hortense， was born in Jamaica to an enslaved woman and her white master。 Millat's older twin brother by two minutes， Magid， is sent to Samad's relatives in Bangladesh while he is in his tween years。 Samad hopes that Magid will become a devout Muslim sheltered from the modern temptations of English life。 With the two twins split， the nature-nurture question plays out in the two boys。The learning continues with theology。 Hortense is a devout Jehovah's witness。 The Chalfen's are agnostic， as are the Jones。 The struggle to understand which faith is supreme and which customs and religious practices should be followed are explored though the younger generation members: Arie， Millat， Magid and Joshua。 The parents and role models influence their beliefs and vie for their affiliation to their religions。The storytelling is brilliant。 The twists and turns are surprising。 The characters are vivid and full of energy。 The plot weaves and collide。 Smith is the British answer to John Irving。 Her plan is audacious。 Her navigation through over a century of history is error free。 She foreshadows 9/11 and CRISPR。 She views England as a nation at a crossroads。 The pace of technology opposed by the resistance of religious and cause-oriented fanatics are pushed and shaken together。 The volatility of these forces makes for an explosion waiting for release。 Smith is one of the brightest voices of our time。 Truly magical。 Enjoy！ 。。。more
B。H。 Newton
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Very Salman Rushdie-esque， almost to a fault but an entertaining read nonetheless。
Mehtab ;）
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god， did i think this book was tedious。 but i got there， at once， and i even found myself enjoying the second half， the myriad of rant-like near-philosophical postulations of the concepts of fate， of time， of the immigrant experience， and the absolutely stupid yet absolutely hilarious characters。
Chris Bookley
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Fractured。
Sue
，
Thus book started out good， but took way too long to get to the end。 Too wordy， way。 too much detail， but funny at times 。 I think it would make an entertaining movie though。
Zoë Holman
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Easily one of the dullest books I've ever read。 I disliked this so much it was almost torture to read。 Easily one of the dullest books I've ever read。 I disliked this so much it was almost torture to read。 。。。more
N
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I'm really glad I dedicated 19 hours of my life to this /s I'm really glad I dedicated 19 hours of my life to this /s 。。。more
Sallymartell
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The last 1/4 of the book is when she lost me。
Nermein🪷
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3。75
Apathy520
，
Good book。 Enjoyed the interplay of various characters from different walks of life。 Showed how things can get out of control with seemingly benign decisions。
Allison Swank
，
I really wanted to like this book。 And there are things about it I really loved （or maybe I just appreciated the long-winded narratives and descriptive pieces at the beginning of the novel， but hated them by the end—I haven’t decided yet）。 But everything that is good about this novel is lost in the density of it all。 Who was it that said “If I had more time， I could have written a shorter book”？
Danika
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Zadie Smith has made quite the name for herself since she first published 'White Teeth' as her debut novel。 This was my first foray into her work and I figured it was as good a place to start as any （in addition to being the one that was loaned to me by Christy）。 The truth is I really wanted to like this book and find a new author to get into。 I'm not sure that 'White Teeth' really delivered that as much as I wanted it to， but it was enough that I would definitely read more of the author's work Zadie Smith has made quite the name for herself since she first published 'White Teeth' as her debut novel。 This was my first foray into her work and I figured it was as good a place to start as any （in addition to being the one that was loaned to me by Christy）。 The truth is I really wanted to like this book and find a new author to get into。 I'm not sure that 'White Teeth' really delivered that as much as I wanted it to， but it was enough that I would definitely read more of the author's work in the future。 This is an ambitious novel - it covers many generations across many different times and cultures， tackling all kinds of themes like identity， race and religion。 Its portrayal of Britain felt visceral and real and I can easily acknowledge that the narrative was well-written， intricate and even at times snarky （some say humorous， but it is a subtle humor）。 While normally this is the type of narrative I enjoy， at times 'White Teeth' felt truly dense and I was never entranced by the characters。 For all of the many pages I read about them， I never felt like they were developed to the point that I could understand them wholly。 I also felt that the plot itself was so meandering that it did not pull me along。 When it finally felt like there was some momentum in the novel， it ended rather unceremoniously （or in the very least， in a way that was not satisfying to me as a reader）。 It also goes without saying that I was able to put down this book to read another while on vacation - something which I never do and probably speaks more about the book than anything I can write in a review。 All of that said though， I will seek out another of Zadie Smith's work for I feel her talent is undeniable and I think this author deserves another shot。 。。。more
mia korach
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dnf :（ i was really hoping to like it but oh my god its so boring
Jayne
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4。5 starsAn amazing debut by a then 24 year old Zadie Smith。 This books sweeps through the decades， following a large cast of characters as they navigate their way through life。 The characters are so authentic， the author seeming just at ease writing middle-aged men or teenage girls; Indian， Caribbean or British; Muslim， Jehovah's Witness or atheist。 There are so many aspects of 20th century life in Britain covered by this book， yet none of it seems contrived。 The narrative flow is perfect。 It i 4。5 starsAn amazing debut by a then 24 year old Zadie Smith。 This books sweeps through the decades， following a large cast of characters as they navigate their way through life。 The characters are so authentic， the author seeming just at ease writing middle-aged men or teenage girls; Indian， Caribbean or British; Muslim， Jehovah's Witness or atheist。 There are so many aspects of 20th century life in Britain covered by this book， yet none of it seems contrived。 The narrative flow is perfect。 It is also quite humorous and witty - the repartee between the women/mothers， and between the husbands and wives。 I particularly enjoyed the terrible Chalfen family; their patronising liberality was spot-on。 They reminded me of The Man Who Loved Children。 This is a book about ordinary people living ordinary lives; as Archie thinks to himself， "Maybe there will always be men who say the right thing at the right time 。 。 。 ， and then there will be men like Archie Jones who are just there to make up the numbers。"A compelling read about the people who fall through the cracks， who make up the major proportion of the population， the ordinary folk just getting on with it every day。 。。。more
Christina
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4。5⭐️I wanted to enjoy reading this book way more than I actually did。 There were points where I couldn’t put this down and others where I basically skimmed just to keep getting through it。 At the end of the day， I’m really happy I finished this。 This book is incredibly important。 Smith explores identity， belonging， and generational trauma in this whacky book。 I’ve read some poignant reviews that point out things that I did not notice myself。 One thing that stood out was that this book starts an 4。5⭐️I wanted to enjoy reading this book way more than I actually did。 There were points where I couldn’t put this down and others where I basically skimmed just to keep getting through it。 At the end of the day， I’m really happy I finished this。 This book is incredibly important。 Smith explores identity， belonging， and generational trauma in this whacky book。 I’ve read some poignant reviews that point out things that I did not notice myself。 One thing that stood out was that this book starts and ends with a white man。 Also this man is so aloof in his choices that he makes them all by the flip of a coin。 He is guided by this blind faith and everything seems to work out for him exemplifying his white privilege。 The decisions of the other characters， i。e。 the BIPOC ones， come to define them。 。。。more
Lissie Moots
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A strong 2。5* - I wanted to enjoy it more than I did。 Ultimately， there are too many characters and not enough space for me to empathise with them all… I just didn’t care about the majority of them， or their stories， since they just disappear after a chapter。
Meg Edwards
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A rare 5-star rating。 White Teeth spans multiple generations， countries， and families with the complexity of the Bible and the ease of a summer page-turner。 I frequently re-read paragraphs just to fawn over their poetry， and managed to get so wrapped up in the characters that I didn't see the plot twist coming at the end。 A rare 5-star rating。 White Teeth spans multiple generations， countries， and families with the complexity of the Bible and the ease of a summer page-turner。 I frequently re-read paragraphs just to fawn over their poetry， and managed to get so wrapped up in the characters that I didn't see the plot twist coming at the end。 。。。more
Emma Marder
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3。5
Paddy
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Great fun。 Feels like an excellent first draft， in a good way: sprawling and excessive， but each excessive avenue is explored so well that it justifies its inclusion by striking metaphor， interesting narrative voice etc。
Jennifer
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9/10This isn’t really a book， like it isn’t really a story。 It doesn’t have a beginning， a middle， or an end， or a narrator or a protagonist。 It doesn’t even have a voice or a point of view， but it does have a flow that carries you through its surprising length， dizzyingly switching whose inner dialogue it describes from， providing their deepest thoughts before swinging out to give insight into their future， their past， their parents’ past， and all the ways this pushes on the flow of events。 It’ 9/10This isn’t really a book， like it isn’t really a story。 It doesn’t have a beginning， a middle， or an end， or a narrator or a protagonist。 It doesn’t even have a voice or a point of view， but it does have a flow that carries you through its surprising length， dizzyingly switching whose inner dialogue it describes from， providing their deepest thoughts before swinging out to give insight into their future， their past， their parents’ past， and all the ways this pushes on the flow of events。 It’s cacophonous， and at first I didn’t really like it， couldn’t get into it， didn’t know how to root for or why I should be interested。 But gradually the noise is more pleasant and its momentum is enough， and every so often such an incredible synchronicity of theme will bubble up with shocking clarity， strangely rare and so bizarre that it’s nothing short of profound， only to continue the next moment with the far-from-poignant hum of what came before it。It was cool and very weird。 I liked it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=White Teeth
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=White Teeth&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,White Teeth&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0