A review by karteabooks
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

4.0

 

Thank you to the lovely @bookfacejames for this book, again, I really wish I’d picked this up sooner. 

Set in early 1980s Poland against the violent decline of communism, a tender and passionate story of first love between two young men who eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide—a stunningly poetic and heartrending literary debut. 

This beautifully written book is informative and emotional. I was enraptured from the first page. It was a tearjerker at times. I really become emersed in this book and felt a connection with the characters and I really felt for them with the harsh realities that they had to face in 1980’s Poland, where they could not express themselves as freely as people can now. I really wanted a happy ending, but I kind of knew that was wishful thinking. 

Tomasz Jedrowski is an exceptionally talented storyteller. 

This was such a short book that packed such an amazing punch, this was queer historical fiction at its finest. As heart-breaking as this book was to read, I found myself wanting more, thinking 191 pages was not nearly enough!