NW cover art

NW

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NW

By: Zadie Smith
Narrated by: Karen Bryson, Don Gilet
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About this listen

From the MAN BOOKER PRIZE- and WOMEN'S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED author of Swing Time, White Teeth and On Beauty - a masterful and intimate novel of modern London life

Zadie Smith's brilliant tragicomic NW follows four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan - after they've left their childhood council estate, grown up and moved on to different lives. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their city is brutal, beautiful and complicated. Yet after a chance encounter they each find that the choices they've made, the people they once were and are now, can suddenly, rapidly unravel. Funny, poignant and vividly contemporary, NW is as brimming with vitality as the city itself.

©2012 Zadie Smith (P)2012 Penguin Audio
City Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Urban

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Critic reviews

'A triumph. Every sentence sings' Guardian

'Intensely funny, richly varied, always unexpected. A joyous, optimistic, angry masterpiece' Daily Telegraph

'Smith's most satisfying novel. Funny, sexy, weird, full of acute social comedy. She's up there with the best around' Evening Standard

All stars
Most relevant

If you could sum up NW in three words, what would they be?

London, gritty, urban

Who was your favorite character and why?

Natalie was the most complex and well developed character.

What about Karen Bryson and Don Gilet ’s performance did you like?

They were both excellent at giving voice to the characters. It is a book about London and they perfected the accents.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both

Any additional comments?

Like White Teeth, this book could be seen as a portrait of London as much as anything. The ending is a bit of a letdown but it is still a great book, try it.

Talented narrators bring the story to life

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The characters are vivid as is NW . A writer who makes a walk down the shops sing with life. Zadie Smith can do most things apart from being boring. Her london teams and some working class people can prosper but other stay stuck in poverty thick as glue.

Zadie Explores her neighbourhood

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Enjoyed it . Do watch the ITV rendition of the book this is also very good

Very good

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the characters and settings really bought north west London to live. a tale of identity and friendship. a very enjoyable listen

a slice of authentic north London.

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I love her work, but this is my least favourite. She does give a terrific portrait of life in a marginal London community - scarcely a community actually - that is psychologically and sociologically satisfying. Yet the plotting is poor and confusing. Questions remain unresolved at the end. She's tried to be too clever and oblique when her straight story-telling is peerless at its best.

Not quite her best

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