Zadie Smith's first novel, 'White Teeth' is like no other. The then 24 British satirist wunderkind spun a tale so enthralling, a multigenerational span depicting the zeitgeist of different epochs, this book will leave you with a happy frolicky feel. And no, i am not done with it yet.
A number of you might have read it for it was done at the turn of the millenium, 2000. This novel miscegenates characters of different races, and creates a mongrel of Jamaican, Bengali, British..
The language is very fluent even for the then Smith, and the characters and situations are described in painstaking detail...
"You had to admire it and admire the man, who sat now like a benign locust, his slender insectile body swamped in a black leather chair, leaning over the desk, all smiles, a parasite disguised as a philanthropist"
And of course the drama....
'Who are they?' She slammed her little fist on to the kitchen table, sending the salt and pepper flying, to collide spectacularly with each other in the air. 'I don't know them!........ 'But tell me,' she shouted, returning to her favored topic, 'Where is our food?' Theatrically, she threw open every cupboard in the kitchen. 'Where is it? Can we eat china?' Two plates smashed to the floor. She patted her stomach to indicate her unborn child and pointed to the pieces. 'Hungry?'
This well woven piece of fiction was an instant bestseller that propelled her to the light early. She has written two books since then 'Autograph Man'(2003) and 'On Beauty'(2005), both which became instant bestsellers.
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