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NW (2012)

by Zadie Smith(Favorite Author)

3.36 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0241144140 (ISBN13: 9780241144145)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Hamish Hamilton

review 1: NW left me unsatisfied. White Teeth and On Beauty successfully left me with that good-novel feeling of cosmic coincidence/confirmation of some profoundly basic statement on human nature. The characters fulfilled the expectations that Smith initially introduced to the reader: of their well-meaning and frustrated mediocrity and inability to really break out of their socially-constructed shells. It was satisfying because it captures the concept: no matter how unusual/exceptional we are (or think we are), or how hybrid our cultures, or how destined for greatness we are, we are ultimately just flawed humans repeating the same mistakes forever. In White Teeth and On Beauty, the fulfillment of this prophecy was so satisfying. But in NW, I only felt disappointed by it. For all th... moree different threads she introduced in the beginning (Shar, Nathan Bogle, #37, childbirth, chaos, etc), Smith failed to add enough weight or something, so that by the end of the novel, when it was time to let these coincidences collide in a profound statement of whatever, it fell flat. It wasn't the sum of its parts. I wish it was, because many parts of the novel were filled with the excellent observational details and characterizations that make her writing so good to read. The characters were well fleshed-out types, recognizable even though I'm not from London, and the tensions in their lives were familiar and well played from her previous novels. From the beginning, I had the feeling that I knew what was going to happen. It was going to be sad at the end, and totally unsurprising. They were all going to be just as flawed and disappointing as people always are.Why do I feel like the ending was just... Well, these two people who are privileged and have survivor's guilt are going to prove us all right for disliking them by doing the predictable thing after all? Yeah. Maybe it was just too real. Still worth reading.
review 2: Impressive realism in characters and dialogue. Experimental styles confused me at times but ultimately added to the reading experience. Confusion, misdirection, and general haziness of events and memories enhanced the blah-what-do-we-do-now-that-we're-adults quality of the central characters, their stories. This is a book I could see myself reading again, its density and depth would reward a closer look. Alas, the lamentations and ambitions of a casual reader.And what does this casual reader want from a novel these days? Two things: an interesting story and good writing. So is there a lot of story here and is it well-written? Yep and oh yes. Important character Keisha-cum-Natalie's life is illustrated in one of the longer sections, in incisive little chapters, and goes a long way in situating the characters, placing them in time (roughly contemporary) and place (Northwest London).One of the questions posed continually throughout the novel is whether a NW Londoner should try to differentiate from NW London at all. Broadly, are we more than our surroundings, upbringings, families, and born social statuses, can we escape these things? Are we missing the point asking these questions, or worse, offending and disrespecting by asking them, denigrating the people who brought us up, people we walk down the streets with and share buses with, who breathe the same air; are we somehow better than them because we believe there is more away from or 'above' where we are, more substance, better living?NW is a great stuff-of-life novel, it breathes, walks, and does battle with the hard-to-answer questions of living. Ultimately, this novel is about a place: NW London, the description on the dust jacket was insistent on this--but its themes reach out to include anyone who has thought about or struggled with borders and boundaries, offensiveness, listlessness, feelings of obligation, or questions of self-definition.When I began the book, I was turned off by the tragic and poetic heaviness of the first section, but the vividness and persistence of the prose was just too difficult to ignore. I'm glad I stuck with the characters throughout. Their stories, however brief or long, were at times, sad, funny, poignant, startling, and always convincing. less

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