Good review – and has made me genuinely curious about Zadie Smith’s work. That’s about the best any review can do.
Richard Craven
8 months ago
A very long time ago I read and liked White Teeth, and suspect I would find a lot to like in Ms. Smith’s subsequent oeuvre if I had not solemnly promised myself only to read novels by White men, as my response to the cancer of woke in publishing.
Last edited 8 months ago by Richard Craven
Tyler Durden
8 months ago
I can understand the retreat to historical lit with its traditionally significant readership. While to write about ‘today’ from an Anglo liberal perspective would be to be confronted with the crushing weight of moral ambiguity given the cultural intifada staged by the generation(s) below.
Linda Hutchinson
8 months ago
I’m not a fan of historical fiction, butI do like Zadie Smith’s writings and I was facinated from the start when I read about the Tichbourne affair. I love this writer’s reviewing style and it has made me think that perhaps I should give historical fiction another try (although not Gregory – I’m not intetrested in the Tudor period at all), and I shall certainly get this book.
Besides Barnaby Rudge, I recommend Dickens’s other historical novel Tale of Two Cities, and Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon.
Simon Blanchard
8 months ago
“Pendant” lol
Anna Bramwell
8 months ago
It would be more interesting to read about Indians in London, and indeed maybe outside London.
George Locke
8 months ago
I have never read a Zadie Smith work, nor am I particularly interested in historical fiction, but this review has me thinking that this was a big mistake. Definitely putting this on my list of books to read in the future.
Duane M
8 months ago
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz…….
As a new subscriber, this is the most somnifacient review that I have seen in the past decade. I am now going to bed — thank you for the assist.
Well I liked it, even if it doesn’t have enough pyrotechnics for some. It made me a little curious about the book, at least, even though it is not a genre I read much of.
Good review – and has made me genuinely curious about Zadie Smith’s work. That’s about the best any review can do.
A very long time ago I read and liked White Teeth, and suspect I would find a lot to like in Ms. Smith’s subsequent oeuvre if I had not solemnly promised myself only to read novels by White men, as my response to the cancer of woke in publishing.
I can understand the retreat to historical lit with its traditionally significant readership. While to write about ‘today’ from an Anglo liberal perspective would be to be confronted with the crushing weight of moral ambiguity given the cultural intifada staged by the generation(s) below.
I’m not a fan of historical fiction, butI do like Zadie Smith’s writings and I was facinated from the start when I read about the Tichbourne affair. I love this writer’s reviewing style and it has made me think that perhaps I should give historical fiction another try (although not Gregory – I’m not intetrested in the Tudor period at all), and I shall certainly get this book.
Besides Barnaby Rudge, I recommend Dickens’s other historical novel Tale of Two Cities, and Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon.
“Pendant” lol
It would be more interesting to read about Indians in London, and indeed maybe outside London.
I have never read a Zadie Smith work, nor am I particularly interested in historical fiction, but this review has me thinking that this was a big mistake. Definitely putting this on my list of books to read in the future.
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz…….
As a new subscriber, this is the most somnifacient review that I have seen in the past decade. I am now going to bed — thank you for the assist.
Well I liked it, even if it doesn’t have enough pyrotechnics for some. It made me a little curious about the book, at least, even though it is not a genre I read much of.
Be a Philistine if it makes you happy.