Swing Time cover art

Swing Time

LONGLISTED for the Man Booker Prize 2017

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Swing Time

By: Zadie Smith
Narrated by: Pippa Bennett-Warner
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About this listen

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS 2017

'Smith's finest. Extraordinary, truly marvellous' Observer

A dazzlingly exuberant novel moving from north west London to West Africa, from the critically acclaimed author of White Teeth, On Beauty and Grand Union

Two brown girls dream of being dancers - but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, black bodies and black music, what it means to belong, what it means to be free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten either.

Bursting with energy, rhythm and movement, Swing Time is Zadie Smith's most ambitious novel yet. It is a story about music and identity, race and class, those who follow the dance and those who lead it . . .

'Superb' Financial Times 'Breathtaking' TLS 'Pitch-perfect' Daily Telegraph

'There is still no better chronicler of the modern British family than Zadie Smith' Telegraph

 Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Africa

Critic Reviews

Satisfying and thoughtful
All stars
Most relevant
I loved it. The characters were engaging, the story is light and moves well yet is incredibly insightful and broadens the listener's horizons whilst being entertaining.

incredible!

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I really enjoyed Swing Time, great performance. Three stories woven together to create all interrelated.

Wonderful story

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Would you listen to Swing Time again? Why?

Yes. Mainly because the narration was absolutely fantastic.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the narrator brought everyone in the story to life.

What about Pippa Bennett-Warner’s performance did you like?

Her different accents were flawless

Wonderful but long

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I did not like any of the characters. Particularly the main protagonist. Great accents though.

Deserving Each Other.

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Beautifully written - I love her character details, observations on human nature, family, cultural identity. However the book frequently swings back and forth in time and place which I find difficult with an audiobook. I found the early 'Tracy' period very engaging but the later Aimee/Africa period was ho-hum. The narrator was outstanding.

Mixed feelings

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