NW - Zadie Smith

NW

By Zadie Smith

  • Release Date: 2012-09-04
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 131 Ratings

Description

A 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2012 • One of TIME's Top 10 Fiction Books of 2012 • One of The Wall Street Journal's Best 10 Fiction Books of 2012 • New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book of 2012

“[NW] is that rare thing, a book that is radical and passionate and real.” —Anne Enright, The New York Times Book Review

“A triumph . . . As Smith threads together her characters' inner and outer worlds, every sentence sings.” —The Guardian

“A powerful portrait of class and identity in multicultural London.” —Entertainment Weekly


Set in northwest London, Zadie Smith’s brilliant tragicomic novel follows four locals—Leah, Natalie, Felix, and Nathan—as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. In private houses and public parks, at work and at play, these Londoners inhabit a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end. Depicting the modern urban zone—familiar to city-dwellers everywhere—NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself.

Reviews

  • Unusual style

    3
    By njmobile
    I found the author’s voice a very unusual style that was hard for me to follow.
  • Bits and Pieces

    3
    By The Rasp
    The voices of the book are so strong. Readers may benefit from some familiarity with London and English slang, which this traveler does not have yet. I think the book hit its stride through the short chapters as Keisha became Natalie. Something about it didn't quite grab me, and I think it telling that it took me several months to finish. I made it though and am glad for it.
  • NW

    2
    By Cindywmsig
    It's book was interesting in parts but with no clear direction and it wandered off in way too many directions for me. At points it was very confusing and hard to determine who was speaking. Can't say I'd encourage someone to read it.
  • Disappointing

    1
    By ellenbass
    I hated this book- couldnt't even get through it. It was boring and very strangely written! I read a lot of books by many different authors and this was by far the worst!
  • Highly recommend

    5
    By ellerth
    Smith is a masterful storyteller. Her novels never fail to consume me--the kind of books you are eager to fill any empty time with. NW has a forward momentum that also folds in beautiful, sometimes heart-breaking, moments of insight about how we are continually coming into ourselves, how we implicate and hurt others in the process, and how connected we really are even when it feels otherwise. Read NW, White Teeth, and On Beauty--each will pull you completely in, resonate & leave their own distinct mark long after the final page.

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