Hello Readers,
Thank you, Penguin for sending me a physical copy of The Fraud by Zadie Smith for free in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, Penguin for sending me a physical copy of The Fraud by Zadie Smith for free in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read from Zadie Smith, and
I thoroughly enjoyed it. In this historical fiction book Zadie creates a world
where real and fictional characters coexist together. I thought The Fraud was
compelling and a thought-provoking read. One thing I enjoyed about Zadie’s
writing style as she constructed the narrative that was effortlessly able to concentrated on an
individual in a way that didn’t take away from the broader context of the
story. Which adds an extra layer of complexity to the narrative I enjoyed.
This book is loosely based on the life of Victorian
novelist William Harrison Ainsworth. This book also draws inspiration for The
Tichborne Trial, a notorious trial that happened in Victorian England that
focussed on whether a man claiming to be the missing Sir Roger Tichborne was
actually the real missing Sir Roger Tickborne. Zadie doesn’t shy away from the
cruelties inflicted upon slaves in the colonies when relating the story of his
life.
As The Fraud progresses, the complex relationship between
real and fictional elements intensifies and I enjoyed every second. During this
book we the readers get to explore the lies we tell ourselves and the shifting
faces we choose to show the world. I love how Zadie showed numerous frauds in
this book not only the small frauds of when people make fraudulent claims about
themselves, but the larger scale of frauds perpetrated by society.
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