Reviews

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

agegg718's review against another edition

2.0

There were themes and portions I enjoyed. I loved the idea of exploring a young girl turned woman losing herself to please others, but there were times I wondered where Smith was going with the plot. It seemed to drag and at times did not engage me. I wanted to like the narrator, but she made so many poor decisions and could just not seem to love herself which frustrated me. I did enjoy Smith's commentary on poverty, race and feminism I just wish it had been told from a character that developed a stronger confidence through the story.

annalu's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

plindq's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

akankshasubramanian's review against another edition

2.0

Sometimes long does not mean good. For the length of this book, there was hardly any character development, the haphazard timeline felt dizzying (in a bad way), the journey mind numbing. A shallow attempt to explore important topics through a bored protagonist.

I only read it because I had started and I don’t know how to leave a book half read. Shouldn’t have bothered.

katyakasha's review against another edition

3.0

It’s unfair to judge all Zadie Smith books by how wonderful White Teeth was, but it’s hard not to. I really liked a lot of this book, but I also thought it was lacking depth.

charlid's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

thesearethebooks's review against another edition

emotional medium-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

4.25

fetzpahs2002's review against another edition

3.0

Achoppy story of various storylines that never intertwine or get in synch - connected with the main character being key in each, but not very parallel. It, thus, ends ambiguously.

moselle's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-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

4.0

georgiaobrien's review against another edition

3.0

Swing Time is beautifully written, and Smith's portrayal in the first half of two brown girls growing up in London in the 80s and 90s is a fascinating character portrait of the girls and their parents alike. However for me, the later chapters focused on the school in Africa felt like they should have been in a totally separate novel. In an attempt to say something about everything, the author ends up saying not much anything at all.