Cover of White Teeth

White Teeth

Zadie Smith, 2000

British novelist, born 1975. Won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2006.

White Teeth is a 2000 novel by Zadie Smith. It was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2000.

In family saga

On 10 of the 21 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Zadie Smith
First published
2000
Length
560 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Family saga, Satire, Migration and identity

Is White Teeth worth reading?

10 of the 21 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian) and The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.co.uk, 2014)ListedSee the list
100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019)ListedSee the list
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian, 2019)No. 39See the list
The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024)No. 31See the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 63See the list
The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture, 2015)No. 25See the list
The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022)ListedSee the list
The Great American Read (PBS, 2018)ListedSee the list
Women's Prize for Fiction (winners and shortlists) (Women's Prize Trust, 2000)ShortlistSee the list

Best edition of White Teeth

The edition we link to is the Penguin paperback (2001), 560 pages.

Publisher
Penguin (paperback, 2001)
Pages
560
ISBN
9780140276336

How critics, prizes and readers rate White Teeth

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 55% of the points available on critics' lists, against 40% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 17% on prize lists.

Critics
55%
Prizes
17%
Readers and booksellers
40%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like White Teeth

If you liked White Teeth, try On Beauty, NW or The Corrections.

Lists used on this page