White Teeth

Archie's coin flip decided a suicide and the whole novel's philosophy. Fate is lazy; use dice.

PastPerfectFutureTense, Zadie Smith writes time like a joke with feelings.

The End-of-the-World gang and the mouse. Fundamentalism meets teenage boredom, precisely.

Samad's regret about the hand he sent to war, his great-grandfather's, his tradition, his burden.

Clara's gap-toothed smile and the Jehovah's Witness past she ate with a motorcycle boy.

Chalfenism, the family that explains everything and understands nothing.

Irie's Hair Affair shop and her search for an unmixed ancestor. The search ends in a smile.

Marcus Chalfen's FutureMouse ran its genetically fated path, until it didn't. The book's thesis escapes the cage.

Magid and Millat, twins split between Quran and chaos. Parenting as delegation to extremes.

Carried out of it: the past keeps making appointments. You can attend differently.