Hordes Of Scribbling Women #16

[millionreasons]

Tigers In Red Weather is read. Next up is NW by Zadie Smith. I have a bit of a difficult relationship with Ms Smith. Like everybody else, I read White Teeth, and I liked it; however I didn’t think it was the game changing masterpiece it is now considered to be. It was an enjoyable tale of three generations of Londoners, but more than that? Really? I couldn’t help but feel that it was so revered because the white, middle class literary establishment like to let in an outsider now and again (c.f. Tracey Emin).

Anyway, then I read The Autograph Man and hated almost every page of it, so I decided that me and Zadie were through. However, a couple of years ago, The Guardian printed the first chapters of NW and also Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan and strangely, since I normally like McEwan (Amsterdam, Chesil Beach and Saturday aside), I much preferred NW.

Comments

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

I tried reading White Teeth but gave up - just couldn't get into it.

I'm surprised it's considered a game changer. Even Zadie Smith has turned her back on it. She said she can't bare to read it - it makes her cringe. (I think it was James Wood that shot it down when he lumped it alongside Jonathan Franzen's stuff and others with his "hysterical realism" tag.)

[millionreasons.livejournal.com]

Even Zadie Smith has turned her back on it.
Wow, I didn't know that. I guess it was so popular with lit critics because it had Dickensian scope, but was a black (or mixed race) person writing about black and mixed race people, and so had the tang of authenticity. I'm very much enjoying NW so far - it's a sort of grown up version of White Teeth, I guess.

Tanya really enjoyed The Autograph Man, so I guess we'll have to differ on that. How are you enjoying Daphne Du Maurier?

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

I've only read the first chapter and it's weird. It's my first foray into Daphne du Maurier territory! Looking forward to seeing where she takes me.

I read Smith's "On Beauty" and thought it was interesting, but flawed. I got the sense - and this almost comes across to me when I hear her speak - that she's working her way up to writing something really, really brilliant. But she hasn't quite got there yet.