Zadie Smith: NW

Recently, I won a contest on Twitter for an advanced copy of Zadie Smith's new book NW (thanks to @PenguinCanada!). I was ecstatic to say the very least and I would have posted a review here earlier ... if it didn't take me forever to get through it. I wasn't truly invested in the story or characters until p. 184!!

The image of London (Britain) I grew up with was, as discussed in our earliest post, ancient and filled with (mostly) posh sorts running around in leather shoes and well fitted suits (so mostly men too). Or, I imagined Jane Austen's England - rolling country side, garden parties, elaborate group dances, and sewing in manorial salons. This image was entirely based on PBS/ AE (pre-Dog the Bounty Hunter) tv programming. As I explored British culture in my teens and twenties, I realized that English/ British culture was much grittier and erratic. Never in my television education of British culture (or even my first university survey course) did I encounter workers or immigration (post-colonialism). But, in fact, a whole generation of authors, academics, and artists had recuperated the life of ordinary Britons and declared it to be the more authentic experience/ identity. It was a badge of honour to speak with a thick Cockney/ Mancunian/ Scouse/ Geordie accent and terribly embarrassing to admit that one had a public school education. It's the reason, I believe, that shows like Eastenders, Coronation Street, Life on Mars, and The Only Way is Essex have such a prominent place alongside the depictions of Britain/ England that emphasize the gilded life of the landed aristocrats (Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, Made in Chelsea). Interesting fact: in 2001, Foreign Secretary to the Social Market Foundation in London Robin Cook declared that Tikka Masala was the true national dish of the UK!

Zadie Smith has been one of the young British authorial voices that have challenged readers to futher complicate their understanding of British identity by considering the experiences of the different immigrant communities that make their homes in every section of London. In NW, we follow best friends Leah Hanwell and Natalie (Keisha) Blake as they grow up on and each move away from the Caldwell council estate in North London.

Both characters are held as examples of how one "successfully" makes something of themselves coming from disadvantaged circumstances. Natalie, unlike Leah, is determined to escape her humble beginnings. She doesn't waste time with romance or socializing. Like her boring first boyfriend Rodney, she's decided that the law will offer her refuge and nothing will deter her from her goal. This single-minded focus on fleeing a life of poverty, however, leaves her feeling empty and with a lingering fear that she doesn't have a personality. These feelings fester and keep her from enjoying the fruits of her labour (gorgeous posh husband, kids, and financial stability). Leah, in contrast, seems to drift effortlessly away from life on the estates but that doesn't mean she feels any more satisfied with her adult life than her friend. Alongside Natalie and Leah, we also meet car mechanic Felix Cooper who, unlike the other characters in this novel, is an example of someone who tries to leave the housing project through film making but doesn't quite make it.

As the lukewarm review in the New York Times pointed out, Smith's latest effort asks readers to consider questions of luck and choices in one's fate especially as it pertains to class and identity. Unlike the dominant ethos of meritocracy of postwar British politics and society, reality is much more random and class barriers remain. This theme is especially pertinent to a Britain that last year weathered days of riots in the street and continues to hear David Cameron's Tories tell that that Britons "are all in it together."

Smith's depiction of NW London is vibrant but it's also sordid and dangerous. The neighbourhoods in which these characters live are spaces in which the rich and poor (young and old) quite literally fight over space on the streets and in parks. The book opens with a young woman called Shar who knocks on Leah's door supposedly desperate for cab fare to get to the hospital. Only we learn that the story was an elaborate lie employed by the young (dirty) woman to fund a drug habit. This original meeting leads to a much more dangerous physical altercation. Later on, Natalie finds herself amongst a crowd of adults berating a pair of youths who decide to smoke on a playground. These youths are less threatening that those encountered by Leah but they are no less insistent on their right to occupy the public space with these yuppie mums.

Smith's new book is challenging in structure as well as subject matter. She swaps between narrative voices and adopts a stream of consciousness technique for a substantial portion of the book. This method is effective in conveying the real way that people speak, think and live (haphazardly rather than in a clean perfectly organized and poetic paragraphs). It is not as clear, however, why Smith manipulates the text in certain spots to mimic a text or email message a character receives. It's not a method she employs enough (as in Jonathan Safran Foer Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for example) to convince the reader that it's essential to the story that she sets out to tell.

I can't decide if NW is a must-read. It was passed over by the Man Booker prize committee this year and I can't disagree. The story and characters feel half-baked. This is not Smith's most evocative portrayal of immigrant lives in London or modern British identity. However, Smith's insight into modern London life is unique and required reading for those who want a richer understanding of British culture.

@SloaneScholar1