Swift's seventh novel

The Light of Day

(2003), a profound investigation into the nature of love and loss, was published seven years after the Booker-prize-winner

Last Orders

(1996). Disguised as a murder story with a detective as protagonist, the novel explores the motives behind all acts of love, whether they are crimes of passion or declarations of everlasting devotion. Elements familiar from Swift's previous six novels, such as an anachronic structure that engages the reader in suspenseful reconstruction of a jigsaw puzzle and a hesitant, traumatized narrator, suggest this author's continuing interest in narrating tales of loss and transcendence.

As in Last Orders, the plot focuses on one day: November 20, 1997, a “bright clear day” (154), is the second anniversary of the death of

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Citation: Logotheti, Anastasia. "The Light of Day". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 September 2004; last revised 28 August 2018. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11970, accessed 28 March 2024.]

11970 The Light of Day 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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