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!
it's "Touche" with the accent egu!-- Yes, that's the way it's pronounced in the wonderful audiobook version. Eliza is always on point with her sharp tongue. Love 'touch it' too, because she is in touch, wanting always to experience, to know deeply.
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.
@@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.
When I was a teenager I walked all of northwest London, exploring each part instead of going to school. Through Willesden, Willesden Green, Dollis Hill , Neasden , Stonebridge, Cricklewood, Kilburn, Kensal Rise, Kensal Green. Church rd, Harlesden, and all around. Every area had its own character. This was in the sixties. Long ago, but deeply inside me still. I was new to England, new to London, and I wanted to understand where I was. I wanted to know what road led to where and how they all connected. Which bus went down which street (the number 8, the 52, the 16) what kind of people lived in which kind of houses. I knew all the parks, all the libraries, all the stations, all the cafes where I could get a cup of tea without being questioned. I felt like I was going to be a writer but I never did become one. So I share and really enjoy Zadie Smith’s sense of these places in her novels.
I find her to be bush league. I have been sampling her work, and her imprecision with language makes her writing unbearable. I found in one passage of like 5 sentences in one book she incorrectly shifted tense, she called a room "small and cluttered," but then said the parrot's squawking echoed in the room (small, cluttered rooms don't echo, rather, large empty rooms echo). And check this passage out: "Andrew Bogle knew too much about the world to trust it. He had lived under the rule of people who controlled not just his body, but the very air he breathed. In the cold streets of London, that old suspicion followed him like a shadow, a reminder that no matter how far he had traveled, he was never truly free. The trial had given him a voice, but what use was a voice in a world that refused to listen? Eliza, in her own way, understood this too well." She talks in the first sentence about him distrusting the world, and then she shifts in the third sentence to "suspicion". These are two very different words with different meanings, and her inconsistency caused me to stop and reread to figure out what was going on. The "shadow" metaphor makes no sense. If she was trying to convey the burden of constant distrust of others, that is an internal burden, an implicit burden, not an external burden. She could have said it weighed her down, but it's odd to say it's a shadow outside of her. She is way over-hyped.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
@@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.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
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!
Thanks!
it's "Touche" with the accent egu!-- Yes, that's the way it's pronounced in the wonderful audiobook version. Eliza is always on point with her sharp tongue. Love 'touch it' too, because she is in touch, wanting always to experience, to know deeply.
Thank you, Daniel. I’m in line for my library copy and can’t wait!
Let me know how you get on with it.
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
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.
@@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.
When I was a teenager I walked all of northwest London, exploring each part instead of going to school. Through Willesden, Willesden Green, Dollis Hill , Neasden , Stonebridge, Cricklewood, Kilburn, Kensal Rise, Kensal Green. Church rd, Harlesden, and all around. Every area had its own character. This was in the sixties. Long ago, but deeply inside me still. I was new to England, new to London, and I wanted to understand where I was. I wanted to know what road led to where and how they all connected. Which bus went down which street (the number 8, the 52, the 16) what kind of people lived in which kind of houses. I knew all the parks, all the libraries, all the stations, all the cafes where I could get a cup of tea without being questioned. I felt like I was going to be a writer but I never did become one. So I share and really enjoy Zadie Smith’s sense of these places in her novels.
Is zadie smith the most significant author of your generation? ; )
No sure she would take kindly to be included in my generation as I'm a couple of years older.
I find her to be bush league. I have been sampling her work, and her imprecision with language makes her writing unbearable. I found in one passage of like 5 sentences in one book she incorrectly shifted tense, she called a room "small and cluttered," but then said the parrot's squawking echoed in the room (small, cluttered rooms don't echo, rather, large empty rooms echo). And check this passage out:
"Andrew Bogle knew too much about the world to trust it. He had lived under the rule of people who controlled not just his body, but the very air he breathed. In the cold streets of London, that old suspicion followed him like a shadow, a reminder that no matter how far he had traveled, he was never truly free. The trial had given him a voice, but what use was a voice in a world that refused to listen? Eliza, in her own way, understood this too well."
She talks in the first sentence about him distrusting the world, and then she shifts in the third sentence to "suspicion". These are two very different words with different meanings, and her inconsistency caused me to stop and reread to figure out what was going on.
The "shadow" metaphor makes no sense. If she was trying to convey the burden of constant distrust of others, that is an internal burden, an implicit burden, not an external burden. She could have said it weighed her down, but it's odd to say it's a shadow outside of her.
She is way over-hyped.
Well, if there is anyone capable of convincing me to pick up a Zadie Smith again is you, great review!
Thanks. I thought this was a great novel with real appeal for readers.
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!
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.
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
It's a lot of responsibility. I hope you enjoy it. Aloha and shalom!
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.
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.
@@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.
@@rororeads Such fun to find good reads at great prices. On Beauty is a terrific book.
please dont get this book. I. am a college student and its a painful read
Sorry that that was your experience. I found it perfectly marvelous.
Thanks for the Review , it was informative. Please less a a a a it would help to Watch 😅
As soon as I work out how to stop talking like that I will implement it across all my videos. Thanks!