White Teeth
by Zadie Smith
About This Novel
In North London at the turn of the century, people's surnames and first names formed a tangled web that confused where they came from. Aji, a middle-aged white man who was divorced and attempted suicide, accidentally got married to a young black Jamaican girl. His Bangladeshi friend Samad, whom he met during World War II, also came to London with his wife to settle down. Aji has been mediocre in his life and makes decisions by tossing a coin; Samad comes from a privileged background, but can only work as a waiter in a small restaurant. As their next generation grows up, the personal crisis of faith evolves into the unfinished expectations of their parents. The conceptual differences between generations, the confusion and anger of misplaced identities, and the collisions and conflicts caused by different cultural backgrounds gradually condense in the northwest corner of the city, and finally erupt into a ridiculous accident on New Year's Eve... The intersection of Eastern and Western cultures shakes the origin of individuals, envelops the fate of several generations, and writes the desires and fears unique to our era.
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