A review by erika_winters
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

There were so many passages that I highlighted in this book! Jedrowski’s writing is so beautiful; every description is effortless and easy to visualize. The narrator, Ludwik, was so genuine and open about his complicated feelings of being gay in communist Poland, which also happens to be a very Catholic driven culture, so it was difficult for him to see himself as lovable or able to experience happiness as a gay man. Jedrowski choosing to have the narrative style be in second person (Ludwik constantly referring to the reader as “you,” to denote his ex-partner, Janusz, who is the target reader of the text) was something I had never read before, and found unique. This book taught me about communist Poland, something not discussed in the least here in the US, but also made me cry. The reason why it doesn’t have a 5 star rating is because it read slower than I like, but that what mainly from me highlighting so much as I went through. 
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