White Teeth

2b. To extend the intertextuality of the novel or fiction to poetry and film by colonial, imperial, or post-colonial sources, especially Derek Walcott of St. Lucia, West Indies (b. 1930; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1992).

novel published 2000, publishing sensation, very young multicultural author

novel compared to Dickens but a century later: London setting, diverse urban ferment of new arrivals, climbers, innocents, scamps, and bunglers

comparison to Dickens: larger-than-life characters, laugh-out-loud comedy, and mix of realism and romanticism

won several major prizes

Why not read in class?--novel is quite long, and conclusion is weak

tough decisions on how to structure class--if we add a third novel to each set, then we only do two regions instead of three

maybe a future class on contemporary world literature

for now, TV film adaptation made in 2002

good adaptation, outstanding actors

hard to know how well film enjoyed by people who didn't read book, but fans of book liked film

purpose of screening:

flavor of book, inspire some reading of a recent classic

+ "third wave"

major demographic change happening in the world

doesn't really have a name, too big to comprehend, but mostly referred to as "immigration" or variations on "migrating labor force" following global capital

cf. Jasmine

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