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A review by pratyush
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
“We had no manual, no one to show us the way. Not one example of a happy couple made up of boys. How were we supposed to know what to do? Did we even believe that we deserved to get away with happiness?”
This book has one the best character studies. Such a wonderful tale of love, longing and desire. By the end of the book, it excels itself. I just finished it and my thoughts are so much jumbled up now so bear with me.
It is a beautiful tale of two boys in Poland and their struggle against socialist government and their own truth. The relationship and the story itself felt tender and at the end it did leave me with a bittersweet feeling. The portrayal of socialism and the political upheaval was done awfully well and it was very impactful to read. The book also reminded me of of the book; Lie with Me so many times.
The relationship dynamic between Ludwik and Janusz and their philosophy towards life was pretty interesting to read. I really loved this bit so much. I loved Ludwik. The happiness we find may not be attainable, and the despair will get to us before anything else, yet sticking to your belief may give you some peace whether the belief is accurate or not.
Despite of all that the story was not holding my attention for so much. I got easily distracted while reading. The writing style and the narrative was such a distraction for me and I don't think I really liked the writing. The biggest factor of me giving me the book a solid 3 stars because of its writing. It does get better at the end but at the beginning it was insufferable for me. It did not work for me. Despite of it being good, I felt like the story was very ordinary and did not have anything new to offer. Surely, the characters were done fairly well but it can most definitely use it as an advantage for the plot as well. The relationships that were portrayed here felt sloppy at times and I did not feel that immediate connection with them, rather it all come to me at the end. Maybe it because of we see through the perspective of Ludwik but seriously it could have done better.
Sadly the writing did not work for me. I loved it yet I don't think I care so much for the story except for the both characters.
This book has one the best character studies. Such a wonderful tale of love, longing and desire. By the end of the book, it excels itself. I just finished it and my thoughts are so much jumbled up now so bear with me.
It is a beautiful tale of two boys in Poland and their struggle against socialist government and their own truth. The relationship and the story itself felt tender and at the end it did leave me with a bittersweet feeling. The portrayal of socialism and the political upheaval was done awfully well and it was very impactful to read. The book also reminded me of of the book; Lie with Me so many times.
The relationship dynamic between Ludwik and Janusz and their philosophy towards life was pretty interesting to read. I really loved this bit so much. I loved Ludwik. The happiness we find may not be attainable, and the despair will get to us before anything else, yet sticking to your belief may give you some peace whether the belief is accurate or not.
Despite of all that the story was not holding my attention for so much. I got easily distracted while reading. The writing style and the narrative was such a distraction for me and I don't think I really liked the writing. The biggest factor of me giving me the book a solid 3 stars because of its writing. It does get better at the end but at the beginning it was insufferable for me. It did not work for me. Despite of it being good, I felt like the story was very ordinary and did not have anything new to offer. Surely, the characters were done fairly well but it can most definitely use it as an advantage for the plot as well. The relationships that were portrayed here felt sloppy at times and I did not feel that immediate connection with them, rather it all come to me at the end. Maybe it because of we see through the perspective of Ludwik but seriously it could have done better.
Sadly the writing did not work for me. I loved it yet I don't think I care so much for the story except for the both characters.