CONTENT WARNINGS: Attempted suicide, racism, drug use, mention of sexual encounters with underaged indivduals, war-time violence (WW2), use of animals for scientific experimentation, physical assault (including mutual spousal abuse), infidelity,
I will not go into specific detail on these topics, but they may be mentioned in this review. These themes/instances are unavoidable in the book
Rating: 3/5
I promise, I’m going to talk about the novel here, really. But, the copy I picked up of White Teeth was a prime example of issues I have with physical publishing so I have to start there. The novel’s front cover is a solid color with the title and author’s name. As a reader, I wouldn’t even pause over this sort of thing for more than a second or two if I saw it on the shelf. No matter how engaging the title, even if it’s an author I know, I’m not going to pick something up if it has, essentially, a blank sheet of a cover. It tells you nothing about what you can expect. Oh and my gods, speaking of telling you nothing: What happened to story summaries/abstracts on the back of books? I’m not saying that you have to give everything away, but tell me something. On my copy of White Teeth, there is a tiny square of real estate that isn’t a review quote or a mention of an award win/nomination. There is one sentence, half of one really, that gives any indication of what MIGHT be inside the book. Sure, it isn’t a newer release (originally published in 2000), but even my 2012 reprint of The Shining gives a setting and Jack’s name on the back. The cover and summary are the best ways to grip a new reader who has never heard of you and your work, and this mass market paperback copy was such a prime example of everything not to do.
Sorry, rant over. Had to get it out of my system. Let’s get into talking about what is IN the pages between the covers: The story of White Teeth. Zaide Smith’s debut novel is a multi-generational story about families, history, culture, and how to keep them in an ever-changing world. The centerpoints of the two main families the story follows are the patriarchs: Archibald Jones and Samuel Iqbal. The pair of unlikely bedfellows are thrown together as a part of the same WW2 tank team, and their lives are forever intertwined after that. An Englishman and a practitioner of Islam from Bengal, the two seem like they shouldn’t get along on face value. But history and how it binds us all is a recurring thread throughout the whole of the story.
Another key point to the story is the multi-generational aspect of families. Across the novel, we are frequently moving back and forth from past to present. Where this can sometimes be confusing, or difficult to manage for some authors, Smith does an unparalleled job keeping things in order. You never have to stop and think when and where you are. With all the jumps and pivots the text makes, the overall storytelling feels like watching a beautifully choreographed ice skating routine. Every leap is executed to precision, all according to its creator’s plan (another key aspect of the story).
For all its intricate construction, I found myself not really absorbing much when it came to the meat and depth of the story. We’re presented with a whole host of characters from the three major families that make up this story, and I couldn’t find myself really getting behind any of them. The characters and their conflicts are meant to reflect the society around them and the battles it is waging, but I felt as if I just didn’t really…Care what any of them had to say in the arguments. It wasn’t that any of them were good, or bad. They just…Were.
When I was describing reading White Teeth to a friend of mine, I said it gave me the same feelings as when I listen to my usual rotation of news podcasts at the start of my workday. It’s interesting, educational, hell sometimes I’ll even chuckle ro be brought to just the right level of disgust or annoyance. But then it’s off and I’ve gone back to being largely unaffected by it. Vaguely enjoyable background noise, that maybe I’ll remember to bring up in a conversation later.
I WILL say that there are a handful of twists that happen at the story’s end that did impress me, but I don’t want to give any spoilers. The last chapter I read incredibly quickly, wanting desperately to know how it was going to get resolved. The story wrapped up wonderfully. Like getting the Chocolate Brownie Lasagna after a meal at the Olive Garden: A tasty ending to a mediocre meal.
In summary: Do you like stories about families? Realism revolving around immigrants, identity, and the delicate balance of keeping your history and staying true to who you have become? You’ll probably like this book. Zadie Smith is a master of the craft and technical points of telling a story. The characters, though on their own not necessarily any one person you might root for, pull together as an ensemble and make a beautiful mosaic.
Macabress Manuscripts 