From what I remember (it's a while since I read this) it was quite a good book.

Given to my dad

Picked this up at the mini-meetup at Cafe Nero near the Strand on Sunday. I've wondered about it for a while as it looks quite good. Thank you, Yiremyahu.

My aunt gave me a copy of Zadie Smith's latest novel On Beauty for Christmas. Before I read it, I thought I should get around to reading her first novel, to see what all the fuss was about.

Overall I liked the book. It's funny and big-hearted, it's a contemporary and convincing portrait of London, and the characters are well actualised and interesting. Although I didn't grow up in London, I also recognised many of the trends of the 1980s and 1990s (such as the philosophy of schooling) as being very close to my experience, since the younger generation of characters were the same age as me.

The narration is an interesting experiment and I'm not sure if it always fully hits the mark. Smith uses a third-person ominiscient narrator but the tone of the voice of the narrator has lots of personality. So it's simultaneously the case that the narrator is almost like a character in the book AND that the narrator knows what all the characters are thinking and feeling the whole time. This didn't feel 100% right to me, although it was by no means a disaster.

I definitely recommend the book and look forward to reading On Beauty since I'm sure Smith has matured and grown as a writer. The fact that she's my age just brings it home to me how much I need to get on with my own writing.

This book is available but I may release it soon, either into the wild or at a meetup.

EDITED TO ADD: I wouldn't categorise this as 'humour' even though it's often funny. I would categorise it as literature and fiction.

Orphaned at the Tuesday meet, to try again at the Thursday meet. It's a busy life being a bookcrossing book!

Funny and moving too, a very good book

Snaffled at the meetup last night to be kept for the Convention.