Zadie Smith

A strange book. I found it difficult to get into. The author writes some very short “chapters” and often jumps between time periods for no obvious reason. It gave me the impression that she had dropped the manuscript and some chapters had ended up out of order. Also, the author has a habit of leaving things unclear. For instance, who a pronoun refers to is sometimes ambiguous and that obscures the meaning. Thirdly, some characters have more than one name and it is hard to follow the changes and why those changes are made. Mrs Touchet is also Eliza, and the Targe, and perhaps has other names. Perhaps the first half of the book is difficult.

When the author tells the story of Bogle, the book becomes more interesting and easier to follow. This section (and it does stay together as a coherent part of the book) is probably the best. Some of the later chapters about the trial of the claimant are cleverly written and make for quality literature. Sadly, the final chapters slip back into the earlier lack of clarity. The chapter in which Bogle and Mrs Touchet debate the concept of freedom is particularly strange; it seems to lack context within the rest of the book. Rather than ending, the book fizzles out.… (more)