As with all Zadie Smith novels, SWING TIME is layered with depth of character development, scenery and so much more. This isn't my favorite Zadie novel but it still delivers for anyone that loves Zadie Smith's writing.

I have enjoyed other Zadie Smith books, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into this one at the time. I may try again another time.

Zadie Smith has done it again. This is a brilliant book. It touches on so many subjects. Family. Friendship. Fame and the power it allows a person to do either help or harm. It really is a lovely book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1845398441

There are a lot of words. It takes away from the story and makes it kind of boring. Not my style. Not Zadie Smith's best book.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to download this title before it was archived

I really wish I had firsthand knowledge of London prior to reading this book. Personally, I don't like books with an expectation that the reader is already familiar with the setting- please elaborate on the setting for me! All-in-all, this is a good book, and well-written, but that assumption on the author's part just threw me off.

The main character of this book was literally a cipher—nameless, surrounded and buffeted by interesting and powerful female characters, while having little personality of her own. It was obviously intentional and it wasn't a bad thing for the story, which is mainly about her relationships with these other characters, but it was difficult to care what happened to her specifically. The story was ostensibly about her coming of age, which makes me wonder: can it be a bildungsroman if the protagonist still hasn't come into their own by the end?

I was excited to read “Swing Time.” I read “On Beauty” for a college lit class and found Smith’s writing both beautiful and unique. Smith’s characters are rich with complexities. She is a great observer of human nature. There are a lot of little things going on in her novels that are easily missed if you don’t pay close enough attention. I would recommend to college lit students, but probably not to anyone looking for an easy read/beach read.

I don't really have anything to say about it. The writing was obviously great but I didn't care enough about the characters to make me care about the plot.

With her latest novel, Zadie Smith proves she deserves all the praise that has ever come her way. Timely, intimate, universal in themes, and written in a style that is both literate and accessible, Swing Time is one of the best books of the year.

I was sorry to finish this book!
Ms. Smith's story of two friends from the 'hood, growing together and apart over time,
was a riveting read.

I had high expectations, because even though this is my first book by ZS, I love her articles & interviews. She can certainly write beautiful sentences, but I am sorry to say that this book was a disappointment for me. I guess it is not possible to love every book.

This is not a story about dance or the friendship between two women, but rather the story of an unnamed narrator who seems to drift almost aimlessly through her life. While there are hints of something that could be interesting in her "friend" Tracey, the half of the book dealing with Aimee & Africa left me utterly unconvinced.

On a positive note, there is no doubt in my mind that Zadie Smith has awesome talent, but maybe this book was just not the right one for me. I would like to add that the narrator did a wonderful job on the audio book. I was struggling to stay engaged in the book and the audio worked better for me.

I am sorry that I did not like the book and prefer to not post on goodreads unless I have a positive review. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this. I still love ZS!

Not my favorite of hers. I did enjoy the ambiguity of the narrators name. I always loved that about Fight Club as well. Some were comparing the relationships to Elena Ferrante. Meh, I don't see it. I enjoyed this more than Ferrante for sure, but not as much as On Beauty. That could be because of multiple POVs though.

Smith's writing is wonderful & I loved the old-timey movie musical angle, but I just did not care about the main character. I couldn't get past it.

Inquiring story about two girls and their strife to get ahead. What does a friendship mean? What causes two women to remain friends?

Beautiful storytelling! There is so much in this book, the story is so far-reaching, that I don't know where to begin or how to describe the beauty and complexity of the narrative.
Please read it, highly recommended.

Smith does an excellent job exploring the world of female relationships, from friends to mother/daughter to boss/employee, while focusing on the ways that history and heritage can be co-opted by the powerful to suit their own ends.

My English Language Arts teachers enjoy Zadie Smith's works and will recommend them to students. While the book explores divisions of class and race, I think it is better suited for an adult audience than the young adults I serve in my school library. I have already purchased the title.

While this didn't overwhelm me as much as White Teeth did and I felt a little let down by the narrator's lack of growth and circling, Zadie Smith is a fabulous writer and this book made some powerful statements about language and power.