Reviews

Charlatan by Zadie Smith

krystlesee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

velma's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

I usually find historical fiction to be incredibly boring, but this book was so engaging. The writing style was captivating and the audio version was fun to listen to with the different accents and inflections. The story was a little bit hard to follow at times due to the extensive list of characters, but overall I didn’t want to stop reading. For me, it’s a book I’d want to read again and again. 

sarahberg's review against another edition

Hard to understand, might have a better time with physical book 

madisus's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Truly exceptional. My first time reading Smith. I’m already making my way through a few of her other novels.

sarajg's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.5

jacquesdevilliers's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

blueridgebookworm's review against another edition

3.0

“Stories of human beings, struggling, suffering, deluding others and themselves, being cruel to each other or kind. Usually both.”

Smith’s voice is so sharp, nuanced, & important, but I did get lost in the large cast of characters and the sheer length of this book. I think it would have been more effective if it had been shorter. I will be reading more of Smith in the future - interesting that this is her first work of historical fiction!

netti99's review against another edition

challenging funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jen_again's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

em1gem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0