Reviews

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

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sopesock's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.75

Swimming in the Dark is a young, queer man’s struggle for freedom in communist Poland.

A book that feels like watching slightly yellow hued VHS tapes of childhood vacations.

It is whilst working in an agricultural camp that Ludwik sees him for the first time, Janusz. The black haired boy fascinates him and Janusz, too, seems to be interested in Ludwik. They spent the summer reading Giovanni’s Room in secret, working on the field, swimming in lakes, kissing in tents and falling for each other.
As the summer comes to an end and the two return to Warsaw, however, their different political stances become more and more clear: Ludwik is struggling to support his ill landlady as they queue and queue for groceries and medicine in vain, whilst Janusz decides to deepen his friendships with rich and influential members of the Party.
In a country that is falling apart, can their relationship survive?

This is a beautiful novel about bravery and youth with well rounded, imperfect characters. i especially came to like the female characters, which is not always a given in historical gay novels as they are often mistreated but do not seem to have the right to victimhood; are written as jealous and stupid instead. this is not the case here. the women of this novel are intelligent, kind, and in charge of their own futures.
there was a lot of nuance, even the people abusing their privilege had character traits that made them likeable. this made the story incredibly believable and real, i valued it a lot.

mainly and most importantly, i love that this is not a love story. i thought it would be, but i don’t think that’s quite what this book is about — Ludwik is growing into himself, (“Selfish. Growing into yourself is nothing but that.”) and slowly opening his eyes to see the only reality he has ever known for what it is: a corrupt system of injustice; and so he does what he can to make a difference.

No matter what happens in the world, however brutal or dystopian a thing, not all is lost if there are people out there risking themselves to document it.
Little sparks cause fires too.