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 City

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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  

What did you like most about NW?

The stories are set in NW London where I live so I actually know all the places. All the characters sound familiar to me, they would actually fit into Kilburn and Willesden, not only because of there characters but also because of the narration.

Would you recommend NW to your friends? Why or why not?

I'd only recommend it to friends who live in NW London or those who have a personal connection to the area. Otherwise they'd have a hard time to follow the story as it's actually really confusing and often I couldn't figure out what it's all about.

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

Really good and authentic narration in NW accents. Well done!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but a book I wanted to get through in one 4-day holiday, which I did.

Any additional comments?

The book is split into different stories of individuals living in NW London, a pretty rough area of the capital. All of the stories are written in different styles and it's not always easy to follow as it takes a while to get used to a particular style. And then some of the stories are really confusing so I had a hard time to grasp what they were about.
All in all I'd say this book was an interesting experiment and it's definitely worth listening if you have a personal connection to NW London. The narrators have done a good job here, but I wouldn't recommend this book as I think it's too confusing.

Interesting, but....

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loved it! it was hard to follow what's 6on at times, but I guess this how life in London is generally

a charming London book

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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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It's great to listen to descriptions of a place you live to reevaluate.

Zadie's descriptions were so in tune and the stories told were original.

If you love and understand London this is a great read.

Excellent Narration. I'm going to miss Listening to it.

NW told so well

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What made the experience of listening to NW the most enjoyable?

Fabulous voices and accents made it so real. Very well read.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

No real explanation for why Keisha behaved the way she did at the end

Which character – as performed by Karen Bryson and Don Gilet – was your favourite?

Leah seamed to change and grow with the story

NW

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Excellent book and brilliant performance by both readers. Zadie smith has such an incredible way of writing. Would definitely recommend.

Another wonderful book by Zadie Smith

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One of the great novels, by an actual writer, what can I say. Reminds me of James Baldwin's Another Country, the way it lives so absolutely and totally in the city it inhabits. The reading is just fantastic, absurdly on point. Keisha Blake is a throwback to one of those 19th century characters, London's own Anna Karenina.

The best audio book of the best book.

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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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The characters were well developed but the story was about flat for me wasn't gripping enough to make me read it out of excitement to see what happens next

An ok listen

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This is an amazing book, read in an engaging way. I enjoyed every bit of it

loved it!

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