My challenge this year is to actually review each book I read beyond a star rating. Having said that, check out user fatma’s review (it should be top-listed) because they said virtually everything I want to say. I adore Zadie Smith and I am bummed out because this is such an interesting and creative historical fiction premise. I would rather read straightforward essays written by Smith about the integrity (or lack thereof) of canonical novelists as well as the ivory tower of Victorian writers whose character drawings may have been derived by less-than-savory methods of observation. There is a lot to be said under there. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the best format for Smith. The characters feel rigid, archetypical, and the narrative moves at a snail’s pace. Added to that the fact that there are actually like 3 different stories being told and the fact that every freaking chapter in the book is only 1-3 pages long (super short chapters are a peeve of mine- I can’t figure out why this choice was made) means no momentum could ever set off. I just felt persistently “meh” throughout the whole thing. Smith has a fantastic repertoire, this just isn’t my top!