This had a lot going on. In that same sort of vein as White Teeth (though much smaller!) it felt a bit like it was dealing with too much all at once and so it got a bit diluted.

But having said that, I enjoyed it much more than White Teeth. The focus was in the right places. Unsurprisingly this book is first and foremost about friendship. And there are some great observations about friendships. But it's also about class, and race and morality and sexism and power - but none of those things takes precedence and the story and characters aren't sacrificed to any of them in particular.

It felt slow in parts and it's not an action packed novel, but it's a thoughtful exploration of female friendship across the decades and I felt there was a lot more that could be said. I wanted to read about these characters for longer.