Lite Reads week eight comes to a close, as we finish with our short story selection Crazy They Call Me by Zadie Smith. Throughout the week there have been questions as food for thought on social media as people had the chance to read it and think about it. Before I announce the next Lite Reads selection (October 7), I will be sharing my own thoughts right here. Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t had the chance to read it.
Crazy They Call Me is one of many Zadie Smith stories published in The New Yorker, but it’s admittedly the first one I have personally taken the time to read. It is a second-person story focusing on Billie Holiday, talking to the reader as though they are experiencing her life. It’s the first story Lite Reads has featured that starred a real person as the main character, and the second story that has used a second-person point of view (the first being our very first selection, Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse).
I always find it different but interesting to read stories based on real people rather than completely fictional characters. The story was inspired by Jerry Dantzic’s photographs of Billie Holiday in his collection Jerry Dantzic: Billie Holiday at Sugar Hill (which this story appeared as the introduction for). Not only did the photographs clearly bring Holiday to life for Smith, but Smith is clearly very familiar with Holiday’s life. Her knowledge of jazz and skill as a writer serves incredibly well in making a real person feel real to the reader.
The second-person point of view was an interesting and bold choice to narrate parts of the life of Billie Holiday. I’m not sure I have ever read another story that features the reader in the shoes of a real person. I think that it really brings the story to life, at least it did for me. It was an interesting way to connect the reader to such a legendary jazz star. I think when it comes to people as iconic as Billie Holiday, it’s easy to feel disconnected from the character, but Smith gives the readers no choice but to connect.
Zadie Smith was always involved in the arts, and in university, she worked as a jazz singer for her income. I think her knowledge of jazz, music history, and Holiday herself really shine through here. Writing outside of one’s own time requires research and background knowledge, and Smith really shows what she knows. The way she puts the narrative together makes me incredibly curious about the details of Billie Holiday’s life, and it piques my interest enough to make me want to read a full biography. It also makes me incredibly curious to see the photographs in the book that the story serves as an introduction for.
Zadie Smith was able to use her impeccable writing style and her impeccable knowledge to bring a story of a jazz legend to life. She is able to put the audience into the shoes of Billie Holiday in a way that reminds us she was more than a jazz legend, she was a real woman. This kind of story driven by this kind of writing is worth a lot to any reader who enjoys jazz music, history, and biographical fiction. It may be short, but it’s memorable. It definitely makes me personally want to read more from Zadie Smith in the future.
I hope everyone who participated by reading the story and following along on social media enjoyed themselves. If you have more thoughts to add, please feel free to comment on this post, or anywhere on The Feminist Bibliothecary’s social media. Week nine begins tomorrow, October 7, with a brand new short story selection!
The Feminist Bibliothecary 