Written by Zadie Smith, NW is a relatively quick read (our edition is around 330 pages, but the book is fast paced and can be easily read in 2 weeks), focusing on the lives of four people - Leah, Felix, Natalie and Nathan, each of whom grew up on the same estate in North West London. Smith throws us head-first into the intertwined lives of her characters, one after the other. The book is worth a read for its astonishingly believable characters, rather than for a finely woven plot. Although sold as the 'story of a city', Sarah and I thought it was more a story of four individuals, through which Smith evokes the impression of the city.
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Sarah
My first reaction to the ending of NW was; 'WHAT? IS THAT IT?' - to me, the ending came suddenly and lacked a conclusion given by endings of ordinary books. Except, this novel is not ordinary. There are sections (like chapters), but the difference is this: it is so unpredictable. In a way it's actually like a piece of complex classical music, there are some repeated elements, but mostly the listener (or reader) may not know what the next phase in the music holds, or the sort of emotion it will give you. You will understand just what I mean as soon as you have finished the first two pages, since the story begins to unravel before you very quickly as you read, and you may find yourself finding it difficult to keep up with the way Zadie Smith writes. I believe this, however, is is one of the reasons why I found the novel so exciting.
An enjoyment in looking carefully at meanings behind language is vital for the reading of this book! NW will be more enjoyable for you, and I think you will be able to get the most out of it if you like to analyse words. Don't worry if you are not great at seeing the meaning straight away, because I found that the intrigue of each of the character's lives made it hard to put down (nosy me...)! Zadie Smith's style of writing has a tendency to become very poetic in many parts of the book, but is most prominent in Leah's part - for example, the description of a mouth is formed in this section by arranging the words in the shape of the person's mouth as it is presented to Leah - quite arty too.
I must mention that Zadie Smith is incredibly good with dialogue in this novel. Some nights I'd find myself laughing at the accuracy of the way in which she portrays these people through their speech. It really is quite remarkable, too, how her writing completely draws you in from sentence one. Each section of the book is different, but the first part feels as if you are right inside the character's mind, going through their thought processes, following their line of sight. In this way, the book is so enthralling, so vivid, and, as I have said above, unlike anything I have ever read before.
I feel that because the book is so unique and interesting, it's worth a read! Although some parts are flawed (such as the inconclusive ending), it will really give you a fantastic insight into a small but specific area of the world, and will encourage you to pay more attention to the sounds, smells and sensations you experience in the area in which you live. And when you do, you might find something else entirely!
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Emily
Zadie Smith is certainly a writer of many talents. One thing you can't fail to appreciate in this book is her use of form. The average novel writes in paragraphs and chapters. Smith doesn't really comply with this, instead using numbered sections at the beginning, long prose in the middle and then at the end one hundred and eighty five short, snappy sections, giving snippets of insights into the mind of one of her four central characters. Within these, she puts virtually every formalistic choice into play: poetry, prose, no speech marks, at one point even writing in the shape of a tree. To be honest, Smith doesn't really comply with anything you you expect from the 'average' novel. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I found reading the book really exciting. It's modernist aspect forces you to think about what you're reading. Through her modernism, and lack of punctuation in particular, Smith blurs the boundary between characters' speech and thoughts. The reader has to determine whether we're looking at speech or mind-chat. In so doing, Smith brings us very close to her characters, their streams of consciousness are on the page for us to see. However, this doesn't make for an easy read!
At times, I felt as if the novel wasn't going anywhere. I was excited to know more about Smith's characters, but wasn't sure they were really scintillating enough to warrant the lack of plot. However, this first section of the novel deals with the character of Leah - someone who is really all over the place. Perhaps the lack of direction in the plot reflects the lack of direction she feels in her own life? Either way, the stagnancy doesn't make for a great reader experience.
In the next section of the book, Smith reintroduces punctuation(!) with the result that this section is much more readable than the first. The character of Felix is much more uplifting - he is busy trying to put his life back together, after having realised that a life of gangs, crime, booze and drugs wasn't for him. This part of the book is the most interesting, but it does feel as if it isn't entirely well linked to the other parts.
The following section of the book focuses on the character of Keisha (now, Natalie) Blake. This section is the most hard work. At the beginning of the book we are excited by Smith's experimental modernism and we try to work out the intricacies of Leah's character. Felix's section is uplifting and a more 'normal' reading experience. However, Natalie is constantly being pushed further and further away from us. Even though Smith uses the format of many short chunks, working in the way that our own memories do, she always refers to Natalie as 'Natalie Blake' and never really lets us get close to the character. Although she perhaps reflects Natalie's own personal barriers, Smith runs the risk of the reader not caring much whatever happens to Natalie.
The thing that I was most uncomfortable with was Smith's pessimism. Although the book is at times very funny, and quite uplifting, the overall picture is one that doesn't bode well. Felix, Nathan, Natalie and Leah all grew up together, and have now left the estate where they lived. Felix and Nathan left the estate and then spiralled into a life of crime and drugs etc. However, it can be argued that they are the most content characters that Smith looks at. Natalie and Leah, on the other hand, left the estate, went off to university and got themselves good jobs, but their lives have been thoroughly dissatisfactory. In the end, Natalie and Leah seem to continue with their dissatisfying lives, without much change. We are left wondering whether there is any hope for them, and others like them. The novel is quite uneasy with the value of getting on in the world, but the outcome for Felix and Nathan shows there doesn't seem to be an adequate alternative either! (Trying not to give plot spoilers there!)
Although it is true that the book isn't perfect, Smith does paint a very believable portrait of people living in North West London. The dialects are flawless - it was as if she had sat on the bus and just listened to everyone speaking around her. As Sarah said, reading the book really does make you notice the minuscule details of the culture where you live. As far as this goes, Smith can be accurately called the Dickens of Willesden. She does paint wonderful characters. Whilst other novels about London focus on the big outward events, Smith looks at the individuals, and then again internally at their psyches. And, after all, it's these that make up our fantastic and diverse city.
Overall then, I would say that the book is worth a read, but don't expect to feel entirely satisfied at the end. Smith's writing is, at times, wonderfully exciting, the most modern thing I have ever read. I think for the change in style alone, it is worth a try. Without a doubt, the characters are interesting, and Leah, and Felix do get under your skin. For me, though, the number one reason I enjoyed reading the book was that it made me appreciate the diversity in our towns. It also made me remember the relative unimportance of myself - it's amazing to think, when you are sitting on the bus, that everyone else on that bus has a stream of thought they are inhabiting, a purpose for being on the bus and something else to be doing later on that day. I find it a comfort to remember that there are so many other people, and so many other lives, that it really doesn't matter what happens to me - whatever I was worrying about doesn't seem so big after all!
