Author:Mary Jane Staples
South London in the 1930s ...and Mrs Hilda Jones is fed up with her dull husband. She thought marrying would liven him up, but after twenty-five years he's just as boring as the day she married him , and now she wants to lead her own life. Her newly-married daughter, Olive, is shocked, but Hilda is adamant.
Meanwhile, a heavy East End gang has moved into the area from Shoreditch, and has established a lucrative protection racket, bringing drama and anxiety to this closely-knit neighbourhood.
Funny, clever ... and a rollicking good read
—— IndependentDo believe the hype, buy into it, curl up with it, savour every sentence, then turn around and re-read
—— The TimesAn impressive début, not only for its vitality and verve, but mainly for the sheer audacity of its scope and vision ... an epic tale ... swooping, funny ... it has ambition, wit and is unafraid
—— Meera Syal , ExpressAnnounces the debut of a preternaturally gifted new writer ... street-smart and learned, sassy and philosophical all at the same time
—— The New York TimesRelentlessly funny ... idiosyncratic, and deeply felt
—— GuardianAn astonishingly assured début, funny and serious ... I was delighted
—— Salman RushdieShe is . . . a George Eliot of multi-culturalism
—— Daily Telegraph[Zadie Smith] is one of the prominent voices of her generation
—— Sunday TimesBritain's finest young author
—— The List[Zadie Smith] packs more intelligence, humour and sheer energy into any given scene than anyone else of her generation
—— Sunday Telegraph[White Teeth] established a model for how to make sense-and art-out of the complexity, diversity and pluck that have defined the beginning of this century
—— TimeThe first publishing sensation of the millennium
—— ObserverWhite Teeth reflects a new generation
—— Guardian[Zadie Smith] is one of the prominent voices of her generation