I appreciate what Zadie Smith was trying to do here, but it just didn't work for me. It's her first novel, and it shows. The first section is too long, the ending feels contrived and unsatisfying, and there are a lot of threads left dangling.
I hated the tone of the narration. It seems like many modern authors are trying their hardest to be “clever” and it's really annoying to me. Sometimes it was funny, but most of the time
My biggest issue, though, is with the characters. They're so one-dimensional! Chess pieces that she maneuvers into position. Caricatures. Megaphones for the author's views. Especially Joyce Chalfens. The liberal self-loathing was a little bit much for me here. I'd like to see the characters treated much more sympathetically, don't just make us laugh at them and feel superior, help us understand where they're coming from.
The best part of this book was understanding how different immigrant generations are pulled in different directions by all the forces in their lives.
A friend at book club mentioned that this was like a lesser version of “One Hundred Years of Solitude”.
