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NW  By  cover art

NW

By: Zadie Smith
Narrated by: Karen Bryson, Don Gilet
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Publisher's summary

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

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

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What listeners say about NW

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Feels like three unfinished books.

While a lot of the insight and small passages are quite good, with sharp writing and fine observations, the stories felt a bit long and never quite closed in on anything or resolved the three stories, two of which overlapped, one which was only minimally related.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

no story

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nothing, it just was not for me.

What could Zadie Smith have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

her other books have had more straight forward story lines.

How could the performance have been better?

My thinking about The performance was coloured by my lack of interest in the story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment and despair

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