Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

35 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

This is beautifully written, poignant, and utterly heart-shattering. I adored our main character, Ludwik, and absolutely ached for him throughout, and the relationships he has with some of the other characters completely broke me. This has so much to say about love, politics, poverty, family, and what the right way is to live or be, and it's definitely one that will stay with me. That being said, I think it would have had even more of an impact - and potentially been a 5* read - had it been a bit longer. It grapples with two very key central themes (the tragic love story and the brutal homophobia that goes along with this, and then the social commentary around Soviet socialism), and at times it felt to me a bit rushed and as if it would have really benefitted from being that bit longer and developing both strands more fully.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment, War, Rape, and Drug use

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A but meh tbh

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, and Homophobia

kal517's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Drug use

readsbymoonlight's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Hate crime, War, Death of parent, and Drug use

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I appreciated the setting because it focused on a time and place (Poland in the 1980s) that I am almost completely unfamiliar with and it was very interesting to be immersed in it, even if briefly.
I quite liked the narrator's voice and I think that the author was very good at handling Ludwik's emotional journey, the final chapters especially hit me right in the feels, harder than I thought they would.

However, there were some plot points that I found a little bit weird

for example, the drugged soup and the hallucinated stroll in the woods, okay I guess?!

.
Also, I think that at times the language was a tad overwritten and going a bit too heavy on metaphors and similes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Death of parent, Drug use, Outing, Classism, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Violence

annagerman's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was simply beautiful.
The writing is stunning, so evocative and stunning. I loved the backdrop of Soviet Poland in the 1980, how themes of resistance and freedom crossed over between the personal and the political. I liked that while it was a bleak description of communism in all its corruption and oppresion, the writer also shows the beauty of the country. 
Also, I liked the story didn't resort to over-the-top drama, both in the personal and the political aspects ( i.e. no secret police or torture, and no emotionly-manipulative heartbreak description). Everything felt subdued but all the more realistic and touching for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Outing

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Racism and Death of parent

itsredandread's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Homophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, and Outing

Minor: Police brutality, Deportation, Genocide, and Antisemitism

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was not what I was expecting it to be in the best way possible. It was beautifully written, and I underlined and marked so many quotes that literally made me stop breathing for a moment. It was some of the most beautiful writing I've read in a while. The portrait it drew of 1980s Poland and the main character's experiences there was heartbreaking to read, and the relationship between him and Janusz broke me in a way that I really haven't felt since I read Call Me By Your Name. There was nothing I didn't like about this book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of picking it up. I urge you to prioritize it, because it just blew me away!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent

natashamountney's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and War

Minor: Death of parent and Police brutality