The Swimmers
Published on 18. May 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-1-913547-47-9 (ISBN)
Description
Longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021 The outcast in a family of former competitive swimmers must prepare for the end of her mother's life in this sharp, sparkling debut from a bold New Zealand talent.
'Tackles the subject of assisted dying with wit and pathos' The Independent
'Darkly funny, desperately sad, brilliantly written. I absolutely loved it' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
When an affair ends badly and takes her career down with it, 26-year-old Erin leaves Auckland to spend the holiday weekend with her aunt, uncle, and terminally ill mother at their suburban family home. On arrival she learns that her mother has decided to take matters into her own hands and end her life - the following Tuesday.
Tasked with fulfilling her mother's final wishes, Erin can only do her imperfect best to navigate difficult feelings, an eccentric neighbourhood, and her complicated family of former competitive swimmers. She must summon the strength she would normally find in the water as she prepares for the loss of the fiery, independent woman who raised her alone, and one last swim together in the cold New Zealand Sea.
'Tackles the subject of assisted dying with wit and pathos' The Independent
'Darkly funny, desperately sad, brilliantly written. I absolutely loved it' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
When an affair ends badly and takes her career down with it, 26-year-old Erin leaves Auckland to spend the holiday weekend with her aunt, uncle, and terminally ill mother at their suburban family home. On arrival she learns that her mother has decided to take matters into her own hands and end her life - the following Tuesday.
Tasked with fulfilling her mother's final wishes, Erin can only do her imperfect best to navigate difficult feelings, an eccentric neighbourhood, and her complicated family of former competitive swimmers. She must summon the strength she would normally find in the water as she prepares for the loss of the fiery, independent woman who raised her alone, and one last swim together in the cold New Zealand Sea.
Reviews / Votes
Longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021'Tackles the subject of assisted dying with wit and pathos' The Independent
'A powerful and intense debut' The Sun
'Exquisitely observed, harrowing yet surprisingly funny' SAGA Magazine
'Poignant and subtle with humorous elements as this disjointed family struggles to fulfil the final wishes of their loved one' Candis Magazine
'Darkly funny, desperately sad, brilliantly written. I absolutely loved it' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
'A beautiful, heart-rending and totally absorbing narrative, a compulsive page turner from start to end... it's a little masterpiece' Fiona Kidman, author of This Mortal Boy
'By turns touching, resonate, fiercely candid, and beautifully written' Jill Ciment, author of The Body in Question
'The Swimmers has the kind of intelligent and beautiful quiet that explodes a brightness deep within the reader... I can't remember the last time I read a more generous book about care, courage, and figuring it out' Pip Adam, author of The New Animals
'An intense, moving, and darkly comic story about unrepentant, difficult women' New Zealand Herald
'Strangely compelling... intensely moving' Academy of New Zealand Literature
'A powerfully moving story confronting the very timely issue of euthanasia' Together Journal
'Lane confronts issues surrounding euthanasia with enormous sensitivity but with lashes of humour and humanity' NZ Booklovers
'A remarkable book' ANZ Lit Lovers
'A beautiful, thoughtful and darkly humourous novel, that unapologetically addresses the realities of death' TwoFondofBooks
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pushkin Press
Product notice
Paperback (mass)
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-913547-47-9 (9781913547479)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Chloe Lane is a writer and the founding editor of Hue+Cry Press. The Swimmers is her first novel and was longlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband and young son.