Global and Local: 21st-Century British Fiction.: What is Going On In the End

Sunday, April 19, 2015

What is Going On In the End

Smith’s novel, “NW,” introduces four characters: Leah, Felix, Keisha (Natalie) and Nathan, all of whom are connected by living in the same area of London. But past this seemingly insignificant detail, the novel does not present readers with any other connections for Leah/Natalie’s and Felix’s life stories; you feel as if you are reading two completely separate novels before you reach the simultaneously clarifying and confusing ending. But I believe that this ending is brilliant and serves several different functions.

To start, I will explain why I refer to the ending as both clarifying and confusing. I do so because Smith does not easily hand to us what she wants us to take away. Barely catchable details and easily overlookable passages, from previous sections of the novel, are what is meant to help us make sense of what happens in the end. One such example of these passages is seen below:

(Nathan) "Too much speed in this thing. Heart is running. That little chief. Don't know why I ever give him my time. This is on him. Always taking shit too far. How can I stop Tyler though? Tyler should stop Tyler. I shouldn't even be chatting with you, I should be in Dalston, cos this isn't even on me, it's on him. But I'm looking at myself asking myself Nathan why you still here? Why you still here? And I don't even know why. I ain't even joking. I should just run from myself."

(Natalie) "Calm down. Take long breaths."

(Nathan) "Let me get myself straight, Keisha. Keep walking with me." (370)

From these lines readers can imply that Tyler is the one that knifed Felix and that Nathan was the other man that was with him. This clears up the ending when Natalie says, “I got something to tell you” (401). They are reporting Nathan as a possible suspect and relieving themselves of the pressure of the knowledge.

Past the clarification that this ending adds to our understanding, it also connects the stories for us in a manner that is more significant than them just living in the same general region.

This ending also serves to do something else; it juxtaposes the two types of turmoil that can occur in someone’s life. We have the obvious example of Nathan and Tyler, who are responsible for Felix. This isn’t hard to deduce and to any passerby, it is obvious that something has gone wrong in their lives. However, we also have a conclusion to the less obvious turmoil and unhappiness in Natalie and Leah’s lives. Their lives could look perfectly fine from the outside, as they are well off: married, and doing well financially. But Leah refuses to conform to the “conventions” of marriage and doesn’t want children, causing trouble in her life. This, combined with the fact that she hates her friends and only finds comfort with her husband and dog, has caused her life to be troublesome. In other’s view, she is “not herself” (396). And Natalie seemingly has the perfect job, married with kids, yet she seeks pleasure from other men that she meets online. She finds herself in a state of surprise saying, “She could hardly believe that she had awoken to find herself in the same situation as yesterday” as if her life was no more than a dream that can be restarted (389).

I believe Smith not only uses this ending to tie together her novel, but to also make the point that things can go wrong in many different ways for people’s lives. Some more obvious to the general public than others.

1 comment:

UnknownApril 21, 2015 at 4:38 PM
One of the most interesting parts of NW to me was the seeming identity dysphoria Natalie/Keisha goes through, all the way up until the last page. This scene is telling of the conflict between her two personalities, she says, “It was Keisha who did the talking” when just a few lines earlier Smith writes, “Leah said the same thing back to Natalie” (401). Natalie’s dissatisfaction with her life seems to be channeled through taking on her former name as almost a second identity. When she calls the police’s anonymous tip line she is “disguising her voice with her voice” (401) and speaking as Keisha Blake.
In addition, continually throughout the novel, Natalie refers to herself by her full name, Natalie Blake. For me, it caused a disassociation with her actions to her person and I don’t doubt this was a purposeful move on Smith’s part to create a gap between the name and the character. I also think it’s significant that the last few pages of the novel detail her encounter with Nathan, a person from her childhood, who calls her Keisha and then she meets up with Leah, someone who also knew her originally as Keisha. Even though Natalie’s life is vastly different from before she changed her name, in the last pages she seems to revert to a state she is more comfortable in, as Keisha.
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