On A Need To Know Basis

The last novel I read by Zadie Smith, White Teeth, didn't do all that much for me. I know that simply because I can't remember a thing about it. So I wouldn't have bothered to read her 2016 effort Swing Time had it not been recently offered as a gift to me - or re-gifted, I suspect, which is just as good.

I'm close to finishing it now and, I must say, I've really enjoyed it. I'm not sure that's a guarantee I'll remember much about it a year down the road, especially given my deteriorating memory, but there are a few bits that'll stick, I reckon. The segments dealing with musicals, especially Guys and Dolls and Showboat will linger, I think, partly because of my interest in the genre, and partly because they are very well done.

I'm also dying to find out what happens to the narrator and her chum, Tracey, which is always a good sign. And which is why I'm breaking off here, hoping I'll find out tonight.