Thursday, August 08, 2013

Ten of the best books about suburbia

Nigel Williams's latest novel is Unfaithfully Yours. For the Guardian he named his top ten books about the people in suburbia, including:
White Teeth by Zadie Smith

I was brought up in Kilburn – though we called it Fortune Green in a desperate attempt to impress people – and Smith's brilliantly-plotted, funny and absorbing picture of the streets and houses I remember (though she is a lot younger than me) bring back my childhood more vividly than almost any other book I can think of. My father was the headmaster of the old Kilburn Grammar School – an excellent institution destroyed by the moronic Labour council who still seem to be in charge of Brent. Smith's book is full of life, atmosphere and the joy I still experience whenever Walm Lane comes into view …
Read about another entry on the list.

White Teeth is on John Mullan's list of ten of the most notable New Years in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue