The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Swimming Lessons

February 6, 2017

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Published by Tin House Books
Publication date: February 7th 2017
four-stars

swimming lessons

 

When Claire Fuller’s newest novel, Swimming Lessons, begins Ingrid has been missing for eleven years. Her daughters, Nan and Flora, have grown up and her husband Gil now spends most of his time going through the books in their house. He’s always been obsessed with the marginalia and ephemera left behind inside their covers, but now there is something more. Because in the last month before she disappeared Ingrid wrote letters to her husband and left them in books. Fuller uses Ingrid’s letters as a portal into her past and a way of making sense of the present.

When Gil is injured Nan and Flora come home to take care of him. As the older sister, Nan is the responsible one while at 21 Flora is still the flaky artist who has yet to figure out adulthood. Nan is also forced into the role of truth teller who repeatedly must shatter the candy coated shell Flora has placed around her childhood and her father—a narcissist serial adulterer with little interest in supporting his family. These truths, plus Ingrid’s letters fill in a picture that is painful in its reality—a young wife and mother, married to a much older man, living in a small seaside community and often left alone with no help or companionship.

You brought me to this place, gave me children, and left; everything that’s ever happened to me in my adult life is because of you, and now you expect me to be able to manage on my own, like a fledgling deserted before being taught how to fly. 

 

The only solace she has is when she swims and so she does, at night or in the early morning hours and even when she is pregnant with Flora.

 

There was something magical about those mornings, imagining the child suspended in its fluid while I was suspended in mine, both of us in our natural states.  

When writing reviews, I sometimes worry about mimicking the author’s tone or style but in Swimming Lessons there is simply no way around it. Fuller evokes water, the sea and swimming so strongly they are the only words I can use. There is a plot that moves with a deceptive calm until the truth is revealed as suddenly and clearly as the ocean bottom in sunlight. Characters’ actions and emotions hit with the force of storm waves and, for some, there are rip tides that pull them out of themselves and leave them struggling for air. The novel is as immersive and unpredictable as the sea itself.

For those who don’t get caught up in the flow of Fuller’s words, Swimming Lessons may fall short. There are places, later in the book especially, where aspects of the novel are like a sandy bottom, with the propensity to shift. They are not sturdy enough to hold up, but Fuller’s talent is such a strong current that the story sweeps over them. Later, on the dry land of the mind, they may itch, but overall Swimming Lessons will keep you beautifully afloat emotionally.

four-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
  • By Claire Fuller
self-portrait
Self-Portrait with Boy: A Novel
girl through glass
Girl Through Glass
The Never List
The Never List
body lies
The Body Lies by Jo Baker
sacrament
The Sacrament: A Novel
we are all completely
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
shore
The Shore: A Novel by Sara Taylor
unmarriageable
Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal
Betty
Betty: A Novel by Tiffany McDaniel
The Shelter Cycle
The Shelter Cycle
how to set a fire
How to Set a Fire and Why
wife maid mistress
The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress
map of lost
The Map of Lost Memories
did you ever
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
Call Me Zelda
Call Me Zelda
endless
Our Endless Numbered Days
October
October Reading-Wrap-Up
unsettled ground
Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, England, literary, marriage, Tin House

Comments

  1. Kate @ booksaremyfavouriteandbest says

    February 6, 2017 at 3:48 am

    Lovely review!

    I thought this book was brilliant – will certainly be one of my favourites for the year.

    Reply
  2. Tara says

    February 6, 2017 at 7:48 am

    Ugh, I really struggled with this one, Catherine; I wrote a post some time ago, that will publish tomorrow, and I feel like I’m the only one who didn’t “get it” – ha! There is no arguing the quality of her writing; she is so talented, but the story fell flat for me toward the end. I’m glad you enjoyed this one and thank you for sharing YOUR beautiful words!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 6, 2017 at 9:24 am

      I’m with you, Tara. If I stopped and thought about it there were problems and I got bothered. The tone and style got me through them.

      Reply
  3. Sarah's Book Shelves says

    February 6, 2017 at 8:45 am

    Look at you and your swimming metaphors – I love it!

    Reply
  4. Susie | Novel Visits says

    February 6, 2017 at 10:05 am

    I read Our Endless Numbered Days shortly before Swimming Lessons, and because I liked the first so much my expectations were high for Swimming Lessons. It fell a bit short for me, especially in the first half, and though the writing was lovely, it wasn’t quite enough for me. (I do like your use of all the water/swimming language!)

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 6, 2017 at 8:08 pm

      I’m a sucker for a water metaphor/analogy! You’re not alone in this reaction- I think it did fall short for a lot of people. I liked Endless better and had problems with Swimming, but not until I stopped and thought about it.

      Reply
  5. susan says

    February 7, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    Nicely done. I like the water metaphors. I have not read Fuller yet, but perhaps I should go with her first novel. I’m glad you got to this one for me.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 7, 2017 at 4:43 pm

      I would highly recommend Our Endless Numbered Days. Responses to Swimming Lessons have been mixed at best.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Indiebound and Amazon. If you click on a link that takes you to any of these sites and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in