21st Century Literature discussion
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Swing Time - Whole Book Discussion, Spoilers Allowed (April 2017)
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To start us off, I'd be interested in knowing why you think Smith did not give the Narrator a name? It seems to me she gets no name, because she does not know who she is. While through the Narrator eyes we learn the personalities of the other characters, we get only a glimpse of who the Narrator is, or was, or might become. And it seems to me the Narrator doesn't know who she is and is afraid to find out.
LindaJ^ wrote: "To start us off, I'd be interested in knowing why you think Smith did not give the Narrator a name? It seems to me she gets no name, because she does not know who she is. While through the Narrator..."I also wondered about the nameless Narrator. I agree that the Narrator is on an identity quest and at one point expresses an awareness that she is a 'shadow self'.
I like your question about why the narrator isn't named. This book is about so many things, but I am seeing on my second time around that it is very much about identity as told through our narrator's quest for a sense of self. My first time reading this, I really clicked in to the big themes of culture, fame, friendship, class, etc. in a more philosophical, global way. Almost like the narrator's mother who is more focused on societal issues than having a connection to individuals. I think our narrator often felt that she didn't have a name to her mother. It especially broke my heart in the beginning - all our narrator wants is a normal childhood. She revels in Tracey's life, something distained by her mother and unattainable to her and we see the origins of our narrator being a shadow.
Mod
Funnily enough, I didn't notice that the narrator didn't have a name until I started reading reviews! I'm not sure why - perhaps it's because I've read quite a few books in the last year that feature nameless narrators. Similar to the narrator serving as a shadow, she also seems to see herself and Tracy as reflections of one another. They are drawn to one another at first because of their shared backgrounds and love of music and dance, though they are envious of one another because one can do what the other can't (e.g., Tracy can dance but can't sing while the narrator can sing but can't dance). The narrator has her own life and her own career but she can never let Tracy's story stray too far from her own. Another place where identity plays in to the story is where Tracy mimics the moves of the dancer she resembles from the old musical the narrator shows her (Ali Baba or something like that?).
The title of the book makes me wonder what the greater significance to the story the opening scene may have. The narrator becomes excited to share one of her favorite musical scenes from Swing Time with Lamin but then grows shocked because she finally realizes that Fred Astaire is in black face. She can't believe that she'd never noticed this before and becomes embarrassed that she's showing it someone else. In an instant, a happy memory and a positive figure from her childhood transforms into something offensive and entirely different from what she'd remembered. Since this scene depicts scenes at the end of the book, though is placed in the front of the prologue, are we supposed to consider that everything that follows is not necessarily as it seems?
Anyways, I've lost track of where I'm going, but the book certainly made me think, even if I wasn't completely in love with it by the end!
What do you think about the Narrator's questions - Is there a general rule? Did all friendships - all relations - involve this discreet and mysterious exchange of power? Did it extend to peoples and nations or was it a thing that happened only between individuals? What did my father give my mother - and vice versa? What did Mr. Booth and I give each other? What did I give Tracey? What did Tracey give me?
Great minds, Sarah! I was going to share that same passage in response to Caroline's comments. I had just listened to it yesterday and it struck me as perhaps the crux of this novel . . . perhaps.Caroline, I'm going to keep your question in mind as I proceed with the book. I had not considered that her memories might be unreliable and that she was pretty much telling it like it was. (I'm not sure that the blackface would stand out to our narrator and Tracey, as they were so caught up in watching the dance.)
I'm about 40% through the audio. I'm connecting with vastly different things in my reread. And when I read the book, the scenes in Africa seemed integral to Smith's premise, as I saw the whole book as a story of class, culture, etc. Now these scenes seem a little superfluous, given that the issue of identity and purpose for our narrator feels more prominent. Hmmm. I'll be interested to see where I come out on this when finished.
Caroline wrote: "Since this scene depicts scenes at the end of the book, though is placed in the front of the prologue, are we supposed to consider that everything that follows is not necessarily as it seems?"Ahh, memory. Can anyone's memories be considered as the honest-to-goodness truth? Doubtful. My older sister and I often have startlingly different memories of the same event. And I'm not sure that changes all that much as time goes on. I never doubted what the Narrator recollected to be what she remember, but we are seeing events and people only through her eyes. I wonder what the Narrator and her childhood looked like to Tracey?
Sarah wonders "about the Narrator's questions - Is there a general rule? Did all friendships - all relations - involve this discreet and mysterious exchange of power? Did it extend to peoples and nations or was it a thing that happened only between individuals? What did my father give my mother - and vice versa? What did Mr. Booth and I give each other? What did I give Tracey? What did Tracey give me?"
Those are great questions and I think they do bear on the Narrator's realization that she doesn't know who she is, i.e., her search for identity. And perhaps the book is about her realization, as she is with her mother in hospice, that she doesn't know who she is. Perhaps the prologue related to events at the end of the book is meant to alert us that the bulk of the book is her remembering and searching for some answers.
Swing Time is my second Zadie Smith, with On Beauty being my first. I’ve listened to several excellent interviews with Smith, and I was fortunate to hear her read in person from Swing Time. So I was more prepared for reading Swing Time than I usually am for a new novel. Having just finished Swing Time, my initial impression, which may change after I reflect more, is that Smith lays bare the nuances of race and the intersection of race and class extremely well.
The nameless narrator’s voice and the credibility of her reminisces seemed so strong throughout that, like Caroline, I didn’t notice the narrator’s lacking a name until I read the posts here.
I have mixed and perhaps contradictory feelings about Swing Time’s structure. On the one hand, my interest never flagged, but I found the narrator’s moving back and forth over time fin Parts Two, Four, Five, and Six and from chapter to chapter sometimes distracting. On the other hand, the moving back and forth over time helped to make the reminisces more believable, since memories and reminisces (at least for me in my old age) are often non-linear. At the risk of over-interpretation, I also wonder if Smith’s naming this novel Swing Time is not only an homage to Fred Astaire but also a comment on the nature of memory and reminisces, swinging back and forth between the now and the then, the recent and the more distant past.
Dan wrote: "Swing Time is my second Zadie Smith, with On Beauty being my first. I’ve listened to several excellent interviews with Smith, and I was fortunate to hear her read in person from Swing Time. So I wa..."I like your 'Swing Theory'!!
I finished this book earlier in the week & haven't commented until now because I am not really sure what to add! I enjoyed the parts about the narrator and Tracey's childhood but lost interest in the middle, when I felt it got a bit too disjointed and meandering. However, reading Dan's comment about the nature of memories and the fact that they are often non linear has given me pause for thought and perhaps made me feel more appreciative of the way this was written.My rating of books is always based on my personal/emotional connection to them (I don't strive for objectivity!!) so I rated this one 3 stars. I did like it, but I didn't feel any real emotional connection to it. This is my first Zadie Smith book and, looking at reviews, maybe not the best one to start with. It hasn't put me off reading her other work, but neither has it filled me with enthusiasm!
I ended up completely loving this. While I don't think it's a perfect book I do think it's an important one and despite my earlier comment about feeling like the middle part wasn't working I totally enjoyed the journey as a whole and I'm really glad we read this.
Definitely liking Dan’s “Swing Theory” as well. I didn’t think about that in that way before. I didn’t really have an issue with the tempo of the novel or the back and forth, but the way you describe it makes sense, and I can totally see it. In regards to the nameless narrator, I believe the quote in the beginning is: “A truth was being revealed to me: that I had always tried to attach myself to the light of other people, that I had never had any light of my own. I experienced myself as a kind of shadow.” [Page 4] For me, the narrator was basically an observer for a majority of the book, and I think perhaps that is part of why she remained nameless. I do think it relates to her search for identity as well, but as others have pointed out, we see the world as she sees it and only get glimpses of other people’s views.
In reading some reviews of the book, I came across comments about the narrator’s search for community and belonging – that she doesn’t feel comfortable where she is – and I think this ties with her search for identity and attaching herself to “the light of other people.” In childhood, she has this immediate and almost natural force that draws her and Tracey together, and she is basically searching for this sense of belonging for the rest of the novel and never finds it. Even when she goes to Africa, she is searching for this, and instead she finds different women from different tribes with different identities. The narrator has this unexplainable passivity (which I found a bit frustrating), almost like a bystander to her own life…an observer. I particularly liked the sections when Aimee just kept it real, so to speak. You have this character that seems so recognizable and static but at times was so dynamic and was able to see the narrator in ways that the narrator could not see herself.
Ernie wrote: "Definitely liking Dan’s “Swing Theory” as well. I didn’t think about that in that way before. I didn’t really have an issue with the tempo of the novel or the back and forth, but the way you descri..."Well said!
Sorry I've been an absent moderator! Dealing with a family issue and then a long weekend in Florida. A couple of thoughts after finishing the audio of Swing Time. I've already mentioned that I connected with very different things while reading in audio than while reading in print. Or maybe I should say "additional things" because I also connected with the issues on class, race, culture, identity, wealth, etc. that I loved upon first read.
The other thought I had is that this book seems so real in terms of the narrator's search for her identity, her feeling that she is a shadow self and her sort of floating along aimlessly in her life. This felt very real to me. When I reflect back from age 70 on my own life and lives of others I've known, there were many people who knew who they were and what/how they wanted to be in the world at a very young age. But I think more people are like our narrator, me included. She is still very young and I like that Smith gave her an epiphany at the end. She sees herself more clearly and sees the possibilities and is uplifted about her future. We can only imagine where she goes from here now that she is free from the relationships that overshadowed her. I thought the scene at the end where she goes over to Tracey's estate and sees her dancing with her children was powerful - it gave me the shivers. Her original intent was to knock on Tracey's door, but that she walks away says a lot about the direction her life can take.
My original review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
My review of the audio reread:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
There were large sections I enjoyed, and I did feel it was partially redeemed by the ending. I would have liked to hear more about Jeni LeGon.
As to how this compares with other Zadie Smith books, my list would be:
1. White Teeth
2. On Beauty
3. Swing Time
4. N/W
5. The Autograph Man
I'll stop back by a little later to pose some specific questions for our discussion. Please add your own questions - what would you like to know about how others felt about the book?