I first read a novel by Zadie Smith in 2008, when I was assigned White Teeth in a class on immigrant literature of London. In Swing Time she returns to immigrant London and beyond, focusing on a multi-decade friendship (turned not-friendship) between two mixed-race girls growing up in Northwest London. The girls become close friends both because of their non-whiteness and their love of dance: one is a beautiful dancer, and one loves watching dance. Over time, this is not enough to sustain their friendship.
This is the fourth book I’ve read by Smith (in addition to White Teeth, I’ve also read Autograph Man and On Beauty), and frankly her debut novel remains my favorite. Yet I still loved reading Swing Time. The novel is its best when Smith really digs into the idea that human character (and, human identity) can only be meaningfully interpreted in relation to another. I’ll end with this quote: “And when I asked her whether it was possible both to love and leave it alone, she regarded me strangely, pulled her children into her body and asked: Have you ever been in love?”
