This was kind of like reading Michael Chabon for the first time – I couldn’t wait to finish so I could rush out and read everything else she’d done. Set in London, White Teeth bucks its way over a hundred years or so to tell the story of three London families. But that’s kind of like calling The Simpsons a sitcom about a family of five. All kinds of little non sequiturs pop up, and Smith jumps out of the narrative regularly with a snappy metaphor or observation just to make it clear she’s way smart. You know she’d be great company over a pint. It’s a roller coaster ride that gathers up all the threads neatly just when it seems totally impossible. Recommended.