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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This was a beautiful memoir, one in which swimming itself grows into a silent, but ever-present, character. The name, Swimming Studies, is accurate; the book's project is both lyrical and episodic, not narrative. And yet, Leanne Shapton manages to circle her topic in a way that shapes a narrative out of what isn't there-- what is blank and unsaid--as much as she is able to capture the embodied experience of swimming and its recurring presence in these pages.
Over the course of the book, she circles from childhood reminiscences of early races and obsessions with goggles to hard training as an Olympic hopeful, to the book's present, in which she collects bathing suits and finds pools wherever she goes, but cannot bear to return to competitive swimming, though she tries.
It's the story of a life co-opted by a loved activity until that love turns to isolation and depression. Shapton cannot shake the mark swimming made on her, nor does she want to, not really. Swimming becomes both specter and ghost, lost love and dissatisfied lover, and the way she approaches the liminal narrative realizes this complication without resolving it. The effect is delicate and devastating. You are made to feel an athlete's love for a sport at the height of her ability at the same time you feel her frustration that the same activity is no longer accessible or attainable-- or even healthy. It is a truth all the more unbearable because swimming, and the memory of it, is inescapable for Shapton.
This is a beautiful, layered look at the experience of sport as a guiding force in a life, nuanced and deeply felt.
Over the course of the book, she circles from childhood reminiscences of early races and obsessions with goggles to hard training as an Olympic hopeful, to the book's present, in which she collects bathing suits and finds pools wherever she goes, but cannot bear to return to competitive swimming, though she tries.
It's the story of a life co-opted by a loved activity until that love turns to isolation and depression. Shapton cannot shake the mark swimming made on her, nor does she want to, not really. Swimming becomes both specter and ghost, lost love and dissatisfied lover, and the way she approaches the liminal narrative realizes this complication without resolving it. The effect is delicate and devastating. You are made to feel an athlete's love for a sport at the height of her ability at the same time you feel her frustration that the same activity is no longer accessible or attainable-- or even healthy. It is a truth all the more unbearable because swimming, and the memory of it, is inescapable for Shapton.
This is a beautiful, layered look at the experience of sport as a guiding force in a life, nuanced and deeply felt.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
For anyone who swam competitively as a child, this memoir perfectly captures the sights, sounds, smell, feel of all of those memories
Must-read for everyone who loves swimming. Captures that feeling of being in water so well.
Schöne, melancholische Geschichte des Lebens als die Profischwimmerin, und was nach der Karriere gekommen ist.
As a swimmer, I thought that I would really enjoy this book. However, it was just a little bit too abstract for me. The vignettes got to be extremely repetitive about halfway through. While I think Leanne did a great job capturing the subtleties of life as a swimmer, I didn't feel like the book really "took" me anywhere.
As a former (unprofessional) competitive swimmer,I really enjoyed reading this book. I especially liked the last few pages with minimalist illustrations of the pools. I think that it was neat how Shapton spoke of her life out of the pool and her life in it as well as how the two would blend together. I also liked that she didn't just talk about the fun, happy things that swimmers usually write about and addresses the more grueling and brutal side if the sport.
Artistic discipline and athletic discipline are kissing cousins, they require the same thing, an unspecial practice: tedious and pitch-black invisible, private as guts, but always sacred. (p. 226)
Ce livre sent le chlore & le béton mouillé & le maillot de bain qui n'a pas eu le temps de sécher durant la nuit & il me donne le goût de recommencer à nager.
Je ne lis pas beaucoup de livres comme ceux-ci, à mi-chemin entre les mémoires & une forme très intime d'exploration, mais je soupçonne que les meilleurs sont comme Swimming Studies: même si la réalité qui y est reconstruite est objectivement très éloignée de la nôtre, l'auteure sait si bien tisser les fils qui relient l'univers à sa propre expérience qu'on en ressort forcément convaincu qu'elle voulait parler, dès le départ, à ce petit creux secret qui dort sous nos côtes.
Leanne Shapton a rejoint une équipe de natation compétitive au début de l'adolescence ; elle a fait deux fois les essais olympiques ; elle était très bonne, elle l'est encore, mais -- & c'est ce mais qu'elle interroge si bien tout au long du livre. Do I have a long-term goal?, se demande-t-elle dans le dernier tiers. If anything, it’s to figure out what to do with something I do well but no longer have any use for. (p. 251) Dans une série d'essais, parfois entrecoupés d'aquarelles ou de photos, Shapton triture ses souvenirs & détaille la relation qu'elle reconfectionne chaque jour entre l'eau, la natation, l'art, sa façon d'être dans le monde. Tout ce qu'elle révèle d'elle-même est à la fois très intime & juste un brin distant : elle déroule toutes ses pensées & ses obsessions, mais reste vague quant aux détails de sa vie. C'est un équilibre que j'ai trouvé particulièrement réussi, une jolie retenue qui donne envie de respecter les limites qui l'encerclent.
J'ai beaucoup aimé nager, entre dix & quinze ans. J'ai participé à des compétitions & j'étais bonne, mais pas aussi bonne que Shapton. C'est pas grave. Je ne pense pas qu'il faille être une presque-athlète olympique pour aimer ce livre. Il faut avoir eu envie de traîner des choses de notre passé jusque dans notre présent, mais de ne pas trop savoir où les caser. Il faut s'être demandé si c'est possible de recycler les grands désirs qu'on avait à l'adolescence. Il faut avoir réfléchi beaucoup à une période de notre vie où on ne réfléchissait pas beaucoup. Il faut avoir au moins un peu d'indulgence pour ses propres quêtes de sens. C'est tout.
Disclaimer: I am reviewing this as a Leanne Shapton fan, so my opinion of the book is entirely dependent on that.
If the entire book had been written through the means of drawings, paintings, photographs, and captions it would have been a totally wonderful book. Unfortunately the weakest parts of the book are the written narrative. Leanne Shapton is just SO PHENOMENAL at telling a story through quiet snippets of moments, so by actually writing out these stories, the book loses a bit of it's intrigue.
As a memoir about the life of a swimmer it is cute and simple. As a Leanne Shapton art book it is a bit dull. A good attempt at merging her writing and her art but I was hoping for more out of it.
If the entire book had been written through the means of drawings, paintings, photographs, and captions it would have been a totally wonderful book. Unfortunately the weakest parts of the book are the written narrative. Leanne Shapton is just SO PHENOMENAL at telling a story through quiet snippets of moments, so by actually writing out these stories, the book loses a bit of it's intrigue.
As a memoir about the life of a swimmer it is cute and simple. As a Leanne Shapton art book it is a bit dull. A good attempt at merging her writing and her art but I was hoping for more out of it.