Reviews

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

ellathelibrarian's review against another edition

1.0

It pains me to give this book such a low rating, as I'm a Zadie Smith fan, but it was such a tedious read. Zipping back and forth between two equally boring plots with no characters you could really connect with and a lack of the usual humour of her books. Would not recommend it to anyone who has read her stuff before.

katy_ryn's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 an enjoyable read, but I found the ending a little disjointed. A lot of strange threads that didn't feel like they were ever woven together.

kathryn_muchnick's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

this book was such a drag. incoherent and unsympathetic. gorgeous prose but it kept getting distracted from the central story, such that the originally interesting tracey-narrator dynamic loses all intrigue and feeling

mariawie's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jimbowen0306's review against another edition

4.0

This book is a good read. It sees an unreliable narrator, as she falls in love with dance (along with a friend from the other local council estate), goes to school, graduates university, and gets a job, and drifts into a job as a PA to a rock/pop star.

As we see this happen, we also watch her over achieving migrant, as she pulls herself up by her own boot straps, and her best friend, whose mother is more than happy to live on the estate, and live vicariously through her daughter.

It was an enjoyable read, taking me no time at all to finish. Because of the ethnicity of both the author, and main character, you have to wonder about the potential autobiographical elements of the book, but I doubt they are as significant as I initially imagined, at the start of a book.

The other thing the book got me thinking about was whether your mum or dad was the "white parent." I'm not sure it's the most profound thing to notice, but it certainly acted as a thought provoking moment, and is something I'd never thought of before.

So all in all, I'd recommend the book.a

tamracielle's review against another edition

3.0

I did not love this book. It is the first novel I've read by Zadie Smith, and I had heard so many good things about her writing. I guess my expectations were too high. She is a good writer; I just didn't care anything about the characters or the story. The main character/narrator is never named, and I'm sure that is on purpose and for a reason, but the effect was one of detachment and the reader feels detached as well. I really did not care what happened to her and I was just glad when it was over.

the_escape_artist_'s review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book. It is a really interesting narrative. The characters are beautifully developed and the style of writing is beautiful without being overly flowery

acrickettofillthesilence's review against another edition

2.0

Reading this book was like eating dry, stale, flavorless crackers when you aren't feeling particularly hungry, but the box is out and you find your self going back for another handful. Ultimately I think my problem with it was that the main character was thoroughly alien and uncompelling. But it was there, so I kept reading.

nicole_bookmarked's review against another edition

informative reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

suzannacaldwell's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0