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White Teeth by Zadie Smith - A book review

White teeth White Teeth is a novel that, like London (the city it describes), has very many different aspects and stories to it which make up the whole. The book tells the story of multiple generations of two families, the families of Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and Englishman Archie Jones who met as soldiers during the Second World War. There is more to White Teeth than just a story of family though. It addresses racial issues such as the relevance of race and the idea of identity and being English. The book also touches on the topics of religious fundamentalism and scientific progress; dealing with the eventual clash between them. Immigrant life in London is a familiar topic detailed in such diverse books as Brick Lane by Monica Ali, The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi and Youth by J.M. Coetzee. The general trend in these books has all been their serious portrayal. Smith gives us a humorous take on immigrant life which is a fresh perspective. The first family who fo...

Seminal novels that the author could have retired on (part 3)

The logic of this post is to list some novels that the author could have published and that'd have been enough to set them up as major in writing , even if they do have lots of other great works. Like Cervantes with  Don Quixote  . I'm going with books published after 1950. Some of these will probably be the only good book the author really did (like   Catch 22). In no particular order: 31. White Teeth - 2000- United Kingdom - English by Zadie Smith 30. The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier& Clay - 2000- United States of America - English by Michael Chabon 29.  A Suitable Boy - 1993 - India - English by Vikram Seth 28. True History of the Kelly Gang - 2001 - Australia - English by Peter Carey 27. To Kill a MockingBird - 1960- United States of America- English by Harper Lee 26. The Corrections - -2001- United States of America - English  by Jonathan Franzen 25.  Possession: A Romance - 1990 - United Kingdom- Engl...

A list about books that are un-put-down-able

There are some books you can read in one sitting. The ones you don't feel like putting down and you can't wait to get back to. I'm not including novel series in this, because those are a whole other thing and if I did I'd be forced to fill the list with Ian Fleming and Tom Clancy Novels. I'm going with books published after 1960 as well. I'm only allowing books I managed to finish in a week. Only novels, no short stories and poetry, memoirs, non-fiction etc in no particular order : 15. Portnoy's Complaint - Phillip Roth - 1969 - USA Quick Summary: Comedy, sexual frustration and self-consciousness. Portnoy's Complaint is one long monologue to a therapist about different stages of his life. This could get depressing but thankfully his life is hilarious. 14. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - 1989 - UK Quick Summary: Mostly flashbacks of a butler from the time preceding World War II, in which his master was heavily involved in appeasement. The inte...