Reviews

Swing time by Zadie Smith

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

christineplum's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

absolutely stunning, multilayered storytelling and character analysis coupled with many hard-hitting themes. highly recommend rereading the prologue after finishing the epilogue for maximum impact.

moni3005's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

outoftheblue14's review against another edition

3.0

Per mancanze di tempo non l'ho finito. La prima parte era molto ben scritta, ma in generale questo romanzo non mi è sembrato all'altezza di altre opere della Smith come lo splendido Denti bianchi.

cmvcaulfield's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mitskacir's review against another edition

4.0

This was an excellent book. I felt the characters so strongly - the narrator reminded me of myself a lot, especially as a child. Shy, a follower, overpowered and overawed by a friend's more charismatic, controlling personality. And Tracy reminded me of so many of these charismatic, controlling friends I had growing up. But the book never demonizes Tracy, or even pities her. She is a fully fleshed and complicated, just as the narrator's relationship with her is. I really loved the parts of the book with Tracy, and wasn't as interested in the other parts, mainly when the narrator is an adult working for pop star Aimee.
I listened to the audiobook version of this, and the narrator was excellent. Her AAVE was pretty bad, but she was still able to give all the characters distinct voices and their personalities always came through.