April answers “I have not read any Zadie Smith yet, Do...”

Alieh asked this question about Swing Time:

I have not read any Zadie Smith yet, Do you think it's a good idea to start with Swing Time? or should i pick some of her early books first, like White Teeth or On Beauty ?

April I think it depends on your reading preferences. I love all of her works, but I know some friends who loved White Teeth and couldn't get through Swing …moreI think it depends on your reading preferences. I love all of her works, but I know some friends who loved White Teeth and couldn't get through Swing Time or NW. White Teeth and On Beauty are similarly structured--family politics unfold across a canvas of social commentary on race, heredity, love, and gender. NW is more of a tryptych of intersecting stories, told in a really subjective, stream-of-consciousness style (great if you're into authors like Virginia Woolf). Swing Time is sort of a mix of these two forms--the central themes are heredity/legacy, girlhood, motherhood, and self-perception in the age of mass communication, but they come together across a really broad stage and intricate plot, which might be why some readers found it difficult (I still loved it, but I can see that criticism). (less)

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