i honestly thought that this was gonna be a magnificent 5* book! but then the second half hit and i was so disappointed by it. :( archie and samad's stories were so good, so intriguing but once irie's one came up i couldn't focus on any of it, it wasn't as good. and don't let me get started on that futuremouse thing... I was so annoyed by it. the story felt so good just by itself being historical with no technology needed (since the time it was circulating was before the 2000s) and i seriously was enjoying my time out here. girlie, zadie, you didn't have to ruin the book with that mouse stuff... 

the whole idea of the Bulgarian cover is phenomenal tho! and zadie smith's teeth explanation throughout the whole book was really well thought out and made so much sense. actually genius! the roots and the canals and everything, really - amazing! 

one thing i liked about the ending was the doctor thing! that was such a good plot twist!!!! it changed the book's whole energy even if it was towards the very end.

if it wasn't for the last part i would have given it 5* without even considering anything else. it just got too political and religious all of a sudden and i got a headache every time i picked the book up. for a book that is that heavy though, the comedy aspect was really good! there were many parts (mainly in the beginning, sorry) where i was snickering and kicking my feet up in the air, lol. interestingly enough, unlike other literature about culture and religion, this one didn't feel offensive or vile (although i can't really speak up on that since i am not Muslim or deeply involved in other cultures rather than my Eastern European one). one thing i loved(!!!!!!!!) was how

Archie and Samad both missed the ending of the war while being stranded in a small village in Bulgaria(!!!).

that was literally so fucking funny to me! political humour will always be my favourite one no matter what. it's too good but you have to be very precise with it to be even slightly funny. i don't even think "funny" is the right word. it needs to make you smile and let out a little breath through your nose. it's not a ha-ha funny but a niche-type. not everyone should get it. it needs to be specific and zadie smith did a great job of doing exactly that with this book!

i know my review is a bit backward but looking back on it (lol, that's funny) i think that's the best way i can "review" this book.