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Swing Time

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Swing Time

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

Dazzlingly energetic and deeply human, Swing Time is a story about friendship and music and true identity, how they shape us and how we can survive them. Moving from Northwest London to West Africa, it is an exuberant dance to the music of time.

Two brown girls dream of being dancers - but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early 20s, never to be revisited but never quite forgotten, either....

©2016 Zadie Smith (P)2016 Penguin Audio
Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Thought-Provoking
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What listeners say about Swing Time

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Just brilliant

Acute observations that all can relate to here, characterisation so visual, really didn't want the story to end, sad but true to life events, narrated brilliantly, great read.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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excellent narrator and wonderful story

narrator was so good. really giving life to the characters. the story was great too. gently unpicking the subtleties of childhood friendships

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  • Overall
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Great

Loved this book and my only criticism was regarding the narration. Beautifully read with some good voices but not convinced that the style matched the storyteller

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

really enjoyed it

lovely to have a new book from zadie smith. always good to have such a clear insight into someone's world

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration but not as wowed by plot.

Amazing narration and the standard exceptionally skilled writing of Zadie Smith but not convinced by the story and found myself getting bored by the meandering plot half way through.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant Story

I love listening to Zadie Smith's books, this is my fourth and possibly my favourite.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant !

Pippa Bennett-Warner reads Zadie Smith's words brilliantly. I loved every chapter and cried at the end . Thoroughly recommend!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

amazing performance and interesting exploration of relationship

Story took a bit to get into, however once gripped, the exploration of the relationships to the narrator were very interesting and became deeper as the book progressed.

The performance really helped make the story more lively!

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How good the reader was

An engaging story. Not sure if the writer knew how to end it. I found the ending weak.

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Masterful

The story is outstanding yet uncomfortably close to home and well observed.
Writing is brilliant and Bennett Warner’s performance is both compelling and skilful.

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