The Fraud by Zadie Smith

The Fraud by Zadie Smith - Book Review

Рет қаралды 2,637

8 ай бұрын

I've been reading Zadie Smith since her first novel and I've read all her subsequent novels. I think she's aces.
The Fraud is funny, literary, political, clear-sighted, and a joy to read. I think this is an author at the height of her powers and we're lucky to be getting a significant new novel from her.

Пікірлер: 23

@hanffd 8 ай бұрын

Thank you, Daniel. I’m in line for my library copy and can’t wait!

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

Let me know how you get on with it.

@rebekahcrossman4690 4 ай бұрын

Eliza says early on in the book that she prefers the French pronunciation of her name Touchet like “Touché” which seems appropriate for the steel tongued lady. But ‘Touch it’ hadn’t occurred to me until you said it out loud and I find that quite funny!! Thanks - good review!

@GuiltyFeat 4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@ianp9086 8 ай бұрын

Great review and good news! I read White Teeth when it came out and loved it, kept buying her later ones but after reading the Autograph Man I have left them unread - it didn’t work for me. Now I should pull On Beauty off the shelf and get The Fraud too!

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

I completely understand how The Autograph Man could have caused that. It's the classic "difficult second album". I'm glad I kept going as the rewards are definitely there.

@georgiam4576 8 ай бұрын

Well, if there is anyone capable of convincing me to pick up a Zadie Smith again is you, great review!

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

Thanks. I thought this was a great novel with real appeal for readers.

@MarilynMayaMendoza 8 ай бұрын

Hi Daniel, I just put this on my TBR. I read about it in AARP. I am not a fan of Zadie Smith's fiction. I prefer her NF but this book and your review made me go to my library and order it. Shalom and aloha

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

It's a lot of responsibility. I hope you enjoy it. Aloha and shalom!

@rororeads 8 ай бұрын

Watched for a while and never commented. Absolutely love listening to you talk about books, doesn’t really matter if I’m drawn to the book your reviewing. This is shameful but I’ve never read any Zadie Smith. Would to say White Teeth is the best entry book? Again thank you for the reviews.

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

You're very kind. White Teeth is a great starting point and one of the great literary debuts of this century. I also think this latest book, The Fraud, may be one of her most accessible. Let me know how you get on if you decide to give her a try.

@rororeads 8 ай бұрын

@@GuiltyFeat Thank you. Serendipitously, I was in a charity shop yesterday and saw On Beauty for 10p! It felt like a sign so grabbed it. so I suppose I’ll start there and White Teeth to follow.

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

@@rororeads Such fun to find good reads at great prices. On Beauty is a terrific book.

@MarcNash 8 ай бұрын

NW Posse assemble. I think she was Willesden rather than Kilburn? Not sure, but having lived in both, there is a serious difference between the two

@GuiltyFeat 8 ай бұрын

In her own words: "Born in a bedsit by Brondesbury Park Station, then moved to Athelstan Gardens Estate further down that same lane, then down to a maisonette just by Willesden Green library, where my mum still lives. When I published White Teeth, I moved to a flat in Chatsworth Road, just by Kilburn Station; when I married, I moved into a house opposite the old flats. I never learnt to drive - still haven’t - so I have walked those streets over and over, passing earlier versions of myself and my memories, at bus-stops, in the parks, in the pubs, corner shops and libraries." - literaryrambles.org/walks/uk/england/london/london-kilburn-zadie-smith-7115 You should definitely read "NW" and I think you'd get a kick out of "The Fraud" also, especially given your expressed disdain for "classic" lit.

@MarcNash 8 ай бұрын

@@GuiltyFeat Not only classic Lit, but historical lit to boot (the difference between fiction set in the past that is 100% fictional in terms of its characters and events versus HF based around real historical characters or events). I just don't seem to get on with Smith i'm afraid.