Zadie Smith's "White Teeth" -- anyone read it? Any thoughts? I'm in it now

[HamdenRice]

I just find it annoyingly slapdash so far -- as though she hadn't really thought out certain aspects of the plot but was making it up as she wrote it.

Does it get better as it goes on? Why was it such a hit and so influential?

The only thing I like so far is the way she captures London's dialects.

[japple]

1. I listened to it on tape last year after I had eye surgery. The

woman who read the book (can't remember her name) was a master at bringing the characters to life thru their various dialects. I enjoyed it very much and, though I never tried reading the book, I doubt I would have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the tapes. I thought the beginning was rather flat, but then I got over the initial confusion with the characters and the whole thing came to life. I was sorry when it ended.

[tigereye]

2. yes, loved it. She is brilliant - I actually liked it better than Inheritance of Loss

(not sure what that says about me.)

The movie version on PBS was a lot of fun, too.