Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Zähne zeigen: Roman by Zadie Smith

8 reviews

isal's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The way that Zadie Smith writes people is uniquely complex and compelling. I was surprised at the depth of my hatred for these characters and then by the equal depth of my sympathy and appreciation for the same characters. (Neena was the only character who escaped without hatred from me. And niece of shame is a kickass nickname.) Their convoluted natures and equally, if not more, convicted relationships with each other were the thread that tied the whole novel together and made the ending of it feel like something more than it was—though I would’ve liked to know even more. Some of the scenes of prejudice in this book wrenched a visceral reaction from me, especially in the casualness of their presentation. 
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riverofpages's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing is excellent. This book is for you if you appreciate wordsmithing. It’s not for you if you’re looking for a light read. The author has a way with words and so she sometimes spends entire pages on an idea that could’ve reduced to one paragraph. Worth the read!
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linesiunderline's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is SO MUCH. It has so much life, so many themes, characters, layers… it’s a book you need to devote yourself to, not a casual kind of reading experience. I’m glad to have finally picked it up, but I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t effortful at times.

A few words to describe Smith’s debut:

Crowded
Meandering 
Rich
Funny
Chaotic 
Epic
Intimate

Because of the sometimes chaotic feel, I didn’t feel consistently connected to the narrative and there were moments when I had to knuckle down and push on to get to the next section. Still, I was ultimately rewarded by it all.

I’ve been mixed reviews on the ending, but I thought it was outstanding.
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fionac326's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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debookgeek's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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alomie's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel like if I'd have read this when it was first published I would have thought it was an excellent comment on culture.
As it was I found it a real struggle to relate to it. 
At its core I can see that it's objectively a good book, but i personally found it dated, which is weird but I think because it's set in recent(ish) modern times it just feels like looking at old pictures from the 80s and laughing at the perms and shoulder pads. 
It was most definitely character driven and honestly the characters were for the most part infuriating. 
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sydneyraereads's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I don’t want to give this a star rating because it wasn’t written for me. I didn’t connect with this book because it wasn’t for me. 

I’m glad to have read it, but I wouldn’t like to read it again. 
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