THE LIGHT OF DAY

Katarína Beňová Ivana Štípalová

GRAHAM SWIFT

Born in London in 1949 Educated at Dulwich College, Queens'

College, Cambridge, and York University

Novels, nonfiction, short stories Some of Swift's books have been

filmed, including Last orders and Waterland

Awarded the Booker in 1996 for Last Orders

His protagonists – often ordinary men Some of the big issues of life – birth, death,

friedships, relatioshisps Relatioships between personal histories and world

events The impossibility of creating a single objectivve

reality

The Sheep Shop Owner (1980) Shuttlecock (1981) Last Orders (1996) Wish You Were Here – his latest novel (2011)

THE LIGHT OF DAY - BASIC INFORMATION

Publication date – 2003 Publisher – Hamish Hamilton Genre -  novel Narrator -  first-person

narrative Setting - set in 1997 in London

(Wimbledon)

LANGUAGE AND STYLE What do you think about the language? Is it

close to seeming spoken? Is it a literary narration?

The action of the story turns out to be less significant than the manner of its telling

Rigorously plain prose, Filled with short, spare sentences and multiple question

marks It's the language of the police notebook. 

‘Cooking. It was something for her too, a bit of a thing, a passion. And once life had been, maybe, a kind of constant, regular feast. I saw it, never having lived it, exactly, myself. Dinner parties, pulling of corks. Windows lit up, through the trees . . . I’d learned to cook. Discovered, in fact, a bit of a flair’ (p.56).

A fugitive lyricism begins to appear. ‘Late October. The clocks about to go back. Now more things could happen in the dark.’ 

CHARACTERS George Webb - the narrator - disgraced policeman - works as a private detective

- divorced (ex-wife Rachel) - gets emotionally involved with the case of Sarah Nash - poorly educated but keen enough to learn - one daughter – Helen

What was his hobby ?

Sarah Nash

- Married to a gynaecologist - Teaches Spanish and French - Her husband began an affair with the Croatian - Comes to George to ask him to follow the couple - Killed her husband

Bob Nash - a gynaecologist - Sarah´s husband

- unfaithful

Kristina Lazic - Croatian refugee- student, 22 years old- Lived under the roof with Bob and Sarah

- has a love affair with Bob Nash

Rita - George's assistant Helen – George's daughter, art student Rachel - George's ex-wife

Marsh George´s parents (Frank + Jane)

PLACES OF ACTION Could you name some of

the places of action?

RELATIONSHIPS

George-SarahGeorge-RitaGeorge-HelenGeorge-Bob

“Days when ...... would come, the best days of the week. When planning a meal was all the food my mind wanted or needed or could handle.“

“Rita might have left me a year ago. I know she´s going to leave me now.“

THEMES AND MOTIFS An unhappy family Broken connections – the prison walls that separate

George and Sarah or Kristina's flight from her home In the background is the memory of the Empress

Eugenie The suggestion of lives held in check 

MATCH:

1. Helen A. ex-cop2. Sarah B. George's ex-wife3. George C. refugee from Croatia4. Bob D. gynaecologist5. Kristina E. art student6. Rachel F. suspected of murder7. Dyson G. language teacher

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Sources http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/books/rev

iew/04QUINNT.html http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/277534

.The_Light_of_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Day

_(Graham_Swift_novel) http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/mar/

08/bookerprize2003.fiction