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garynoplastie's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, War, and Homophobia
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
writtenontheflyleaves's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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I read this for my gals book club and I never post my reviews for book club books until after we’ve met to discuss them, so it’s been a few weeks since I finished this but lemme tell ya: it’s magnificent.
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🌊 The setting is Poland, 1980. Ludwik is about to graduate university when he is sent, along with his peers, to an agricultural camp, where he meets Janusz. They spend a dreamlike summer swimming in lakes and falling in love - but when they get back to Warsaw, they are exposed once again to the harsh realities of life under the Party. They must each decide how to survive, and whether their society will tear them apart.
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I think it’s fair to say that this book definitely gives off Call Me By Your Name vibes. They’re both gay romances set in Europe in the 1980s; they both deal with intoxicating first love, romantic summers, and ultimately regret: both protagonists narrate their stories from a remove of some sort, and agonise over events that now seem fated and tragic. However, everything that the novel CMBYN does, imo Swimming in the Dark does better.
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This is a novel about love and bravery within a system that makes so many of your decisions for you. Ludwik and Janusz are pulled in opposite directions by their solutions to the obstacles that face them within this system, and one of the key questions that the novel asks is what freedom looks like in any one life. It’s not just a love story, it’s a story about a love that reveals the characters and the country they live in with astonishing clarity. Guys, it’s a REALLY good book!!
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🍃 Read it if you liked Call Me By Your Name, but have reservations about Aciman, or if you like love stories set against a political backdrop.
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🚫 Avoid it if you’re feeling in the mood for something more meaty or fast paced (this novel is very gentle and nuanced and beautiful) or if you want something gritty - there are dark elements here but I wouldn’t necessarily call them gritty!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
-
I read this for my gals book club and I never post my reviews for book club books until after we’ve met to discuss them, so it’s been a few weeks since I finished this but lemme tell ya: it’s magnificent.
-
🌊 The setting is Poland, 1980. Ludwik is about to graduate university when he is sent, along with his peers, to an agricultural camp, where he meets Janusz. They spend a dreamlike summer swimming in lakes and falling in love - but when they get back to Warsaw, they are exposed once again to the harsh realities of life under the Party. They must each decide how to survive, and whether their society will tear them apart.
-
I think it’s fair to say that this book definitely gives off Call Me By Your Name vibes. They’re both gay romances set in Europe in the 1980s; they both deal with intoxicating first love, romantic summers, and ultimately regret: both protagonists narrate their stories from a remove of some sort, and agonise over events that now seem fated and tragic. However, everything that the novel CMBYN does, imo Swimming in the Dark does better.
-
This is a novel about love and bravery within a system that makes so many of your decisions for you. Ludwik and Janusz are pulled in opposite directions by their solutions to the obstacles that face them within this system, and one of the key questions that the novel asks is what freedom looks like in any one life. It’s not just a love story, it’s a story about a love that reveals the characters and the country they live in with astonishing clarity. Guys, it’s a REALLY good book!!
-
🍃 Read it if you liked Call Me By Your Name, but have reservations about Aciman, or if you like love stories set against a political backdrop.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you’re feeling in the mood for something more meaty or fast paced (this novel is very gentle and nuanced and beautiful) or if you want something gritty - there are dark elements here but I wouldn’t necessarily call them gritty!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Infidelity
Minor: Grief, Police brutality, and Death
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