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alhj's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
caitlinxreads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
octa's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
schuyt's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
dinasamimi's review
4.0
Very evocative writing throughout. Otsuka really taps into swim culture with fullness in the beginning. Where you begin is not where you end though. The second half of this really shifts, and ends up being quite moving.
thepetitepunk's review
5.0
4.5 stars
I picked this up as I was leaving the library because it was cute and tiny and a fun color. I probably would have been more prepared to read The Swimmers if I had, oh, you know, read the synopsis or whatever, but unfortunately I choose books by their covers and occasionally by their charming, abnormally small size, which often puts me in a situation where I really just thought it’d be fun to hold said cute, tiny book and instead I get emotionally obliterated, which is significantly less fun.
The Swimmers is strange, magical, and hard to describe. It plays with plural first person and also second person through vignettes that offer just enough to the reading. It’s distant and whimsical at first and then narrows in towards the end (which is where you get a nice punch to the gut!).
I loved the writing, minus some of the drawn-out repetitive structure in the middle, and the uniqueness of the style. Great for people who love books that explore humanity and connection, loneliness, death, drifting away, and mother/daughter relationships.
✧ ✧ ✧
≪reading 31 books for 31 days of july≫
╰┈➤ 1. intimacies by katie kitamura
╰┈➤ 2. convenience store woman by sayaka murata
╰┈➤ 3. shout by laurie halse anderson
╰┈➤ 4. lemon by kwon yeo-sun
╰┈➤ 5. here the whole time by vitor martins
╰┈➤ 6. i’m still here: black dignity in a world made for whiteness by austin channing brown
╰┈➤ 7. the worst kind of want by liska jacobs
╰┈➤ 8. come as you are by emily nagoski
╰┈➤ 9. the swimmers by julie otsuka
I picked this up as I was leaving the library because it was cute and tiny and a fun color. I probably would have been more prepared to read The Swimmers if I had, oh, you know, read the synopsis or whatever, but unfortunately I choose books by their covers and occasionally by their charming, abnormally small size, which often puts me in a situation where I really just thought it’d be fun to hold said cute, tiny book and instead I get emotionally obliterated, which is significantly less fun.
The Swimmers is strange, magical, and hard to describe. It plays with plural first person and also second person through vignettes that offer just enough to the reading. It’s distant and whimsical at first and then narrows in towards the end (which is where you get a nice punch to the gut!).
I loved the writing, minus some of the drawn-out repetitive structure in the middle, and the uniqueness of the style. Great for people who love books that explore humanity and connection, loneliness, death, drifting away, and mother/daughter relationships.
✧ ✧ ✧
≪reading 31 books for 31 days of july≫
╰┈➤ 1. intimacies by katie kitamura
╰┈➤ 2. convenience store woman by sayaka murata
╰┈➤ 3. shout by laurie halse anderson
╰┈➤ 4. lemon by kwon yeo-sun
╰┈➤ 5. here the whole time by vitor martins
╰┈➤ 6. i’m still here: black dignity in a world made for whiteness by austin channing brown
╰┈➤ 7. the worst kind of want by liska jacobs
╰┈➤ 8. come as you are by emily nagoski
╰┈➤ 9. the swimmers by julie otsuka
cslanzi's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
I liked this more than I thought I was going to. Had the book been any longer I would have started to dislike the writing style. It was well structured with 4-5 distinct themes. The author did a great job of capturing the heartache and difficulty that comes with dementia. The title The Swimmers for me poorly represents what the book
Is about.
Is about.
jansbookcorner's review
4.0
A beautiful metaphorical story at the beginning that evolves into a story of aging then mothers and daughters. Written in a quiet prose that matches the tale being told. The more I think about it, the more I like this book.
rereader33's review
4.0
2022 September Grab Bag Reading Challenge
Prompt: read a book
Julie Otsuka is one of those rare authors that can write a compelling, complete novel in less than 200 pages. While not all of her characters are named nor have many descriptive features, they are still full characters with their own conflicts, identities, and personalities. Not only that, but Otsuka is so good at not wasting time or page space with unnecessary fluff. Even when some of the sentences or paragraphs seem superfluous, they do add to context of each scene or the overarching message of the story.
I will fully admit, the first third dragged on a bit with the whole "crack conflict" (boy does that sound weird. It makes sense in context, I swear), but it did serve a greater purpose to the story and to the main character, Alice. And holy shit, does her story pack an emotional gut-punch. Otsuka handles Alice's mental decline and her family's reaction to it with care and empathy, but doesn't shy away from how painful it is for all persons involved. It's a powerfully sad story told with Otsuka's trademark sparingly emotional writing.
This was a great novel that is a fast yet emotionally powerful read. I highly recommend others check it out as well as Otsuka's previous works.
Prompt: read a book
Julie Otsuka is one of those rare authors that can write a compelling, complete novel in less than 200 pages. While not all of her characters are named nor have many descriptive features, they are still full characters with their own conflicts, identities, and personalities. Not only that, but Otsuka is so good at not wasting time or page space with unnecessary fluff. Even when some of the sentences or paragraphs seem superfluous, they do add to context of each scene or the overarching message of the story.
I will fully admit, the first third dragged on a bit with the whole "crack conflict" (boy does that sound weird. It makes sense in context, I swear), but it did serve a greater purpose to the story and to the main character, Alice. And holy shit, does her story pack an emotional gut-punch. Otsuka handles Alice's mental decline and her family's reaction to it with care and empathy, but doesn't shy away from how painful it is for all persons involved. It's a powerfully sad story told with Otsuka's trademark sparingly emotional writing.
This was a great novel that is a fast yet emotionally powerful read. I highly recommend others check it out as well as Otsuka's previous works.