White Teeth

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White Teeth
Written by: Zadie Smith
Central Theme: Britain's relationship with immigrants from the British Commonwealth (Wikipedia)
Synopsis:
Genre(s): Hysterical realism
First published: January 27, 2000
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White Teeth, a 2000 novel by Zadie Smith, chronicles the lives of two World War II veterans and their families in late twentieth-century London. Samad Iqbal is an intelligent and voluble but underemployed waiter, and Archie Jones is a laconic and indecisive everyman, but they are drawn together by their shared experiences in the war, similar family situations, and mutual need for a balancing influence.

When Samad's son Millat, Archie's daughter Irie, and Joshua Chalfen are accused of using drugs on school property, Joshua's intellectual parents decide to be an uplifting influence on the poor working class children. Joyce Chalfen aspires to become a mother figure to the Troubled but Cute Millat, while Marcus Chalfen decides that Irie Jones and Millat's more studious twin Magid can be of assistance in a controversial experiment he is conducting.

As the three families become involved with religious fanatics, political intrigues and ethical dilemmas, it becomes apparent that the fate of a single mouse may rest in their hands.

The novel was adapted into a four-episode series in 2002.

Tropes used in White Teeth include: