From the internationally bestselling author of The Buddha in the Attic comes a novel about memory and loss, mothers and daughters, the stories that make up a life, and what happens when they start to unravel
\”Up there,\” she says, \”I’m just another little old lady. But down here, at the pool, I’m myself.\”
For the people who swim there each day, the local pool is a haven of unexpected kinship and private solace. For Alice, her daily laps have become the ritual that gives her life meaning, even though she may not remember the combination to her locker or where she put her towel.
But one day, a crack appears deep beneath the surface of the water, and then another, and then another. The pool must close for repairs, and with that Alice is plunged into dislocation and chaos.
Away from the steady routines of her swimming, she is engulfed by difficult memories of her own past. And as her sense of home, and of herself, slip further out of her grasp, her daughter must navigate the newly fractured landscape of their relationship.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication date: 24/10/2023
The Swimmers
by Julie Otsuka
Review by Rosa
The Swimmers is a tale about the value and beauty of the mundane routines that shape our lives, and the unavoidable cracks that wear away at our minds and bodies. The novel is split into two distinct sections, and Otsuka blends them together in a bewildering yet intriguing way through metaphor. A quick read though not lacking emotional depth, The Swimmers is abstract, hard-hitting and creatively depicts the realities of being human.
SCORPIO BOOKS
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
120 Hereford Street
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 379 2882
TELLING TALES
Five Lanes, The BNZ Centre
101-111 Cashel St
Christchurch Central City
Ph: (03) 741 3309
FREE NZ SHIPPING FOR ORDERS OVER $100