Swimming Lessons

****SPOILER ALERT**** I liked the format of the book and I admired its creativity. I loved Flora and Ingrid. It's well written. And there was just enough meat on the characters to make me believe in them. But . . . I found the ending unsatisfying. It was as though the ending had been forced upon the author by a Hollywood producer. Still the book is full of fine language and it stands out from the crowd. And, it made me work a little. Four stars with a little more courage on the author's part.

Starting out as a calm family history, there is an air of mystery on the pages. Where is the mother? What is happening to the father? Will they find all the letters? Balanced with tragedy and hope, the quiet story has dynamic punches of emotion. It explores bonds between people. How much can a child, even grown, truly know their parents? Swimming Lessons is a beautifully told novel about betrayal, love, duty, regret, and the sacrifices one makes over the span of a lifetime.

I enjoyed the whole book. The characters were rich and constantly revealing new aspects of themselves. I felt emotion for each one. That is rare. The timeline which jumped around was so accurate/real. If you read this book and don't like it, you might well have had a perfectly pleasant life. For those of us who can relate to dealing with other people disappointing us.....this book will hit home in your soul.

Not. One. Likeable Character. Even worse halfway in, there's pornography--according to Dictionary.com/ "sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal." One slight deviation from that definition might be that the scene I read wasn't sexually arousing, rather sickening, yet such vulgarity sticks in the mind in such a way that I put the book down. I don't want such imagery in my mind. Too bad, the premise could have been a page-turner leading to something far less predictable. What a disappointment after such glowing reviews.

At times, this story was interesting. There was so much potential for this to be a good book. But there really isn't any satisfactory resolution. I agree with other reviewers that none of the characters are likeable. Some are downright despicable. There is no redemption, no justification for the way either parent behaved. There's a little bit too much emphasis on strange details (fish falling from sky, pink dress, etc). There are way too many meaningful details missing and questions left unanswered.

Oh, is this ever a slow burn. Through lush writing, complex characters, and a two-generation family saga full of nuance, Claire Fuller has crafted a story that takes hold of your heart and very, very, very slowly rips it out...so slowly that you don't realize it until you're fully invested and can't turn away. What a stunning novel.

This novel is mostly written in epistolary form about a disjointed marriage and disjointed family and is somewhat engaging. I definitely wouldn't define it as an "exhilarating mystery." It is definitely a little different, but still enjoyable to read. That being said, I finished it a week ago, read two books since then, and had to return to the item description before writing my review in order to remember what it was about.

Book #41 Read in 2017
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Flora's father Gil falls and he says it is because he saw his long-disappeared and presumed-dead wife Ingrid. Flora returns home to check on her father and to see if her mother has returned. Gil and Ingrid had a complicated marriage and the effects are lasting on Flora. This book was a decent read. I borrowed it from the public library.

I loved "Our Endless Numbered Days," and loved this one as well. Claire Fuller is a phenomenal writer! The characters are very well developed, and the plot is engrossing! I loved that it goes back and forth between present day and Ingrid's letters written over the course of her marriage. So much symbolism and so very sensual....makes for a wonderful read. Can't wait for more from Claire Fuller!

I really wanted this book to go somewhere. I liked the style of writing and really enjoyed the different chapters being told in different ways. I especially enjoyed the 'letter' chapters. However, for me, it was a lot of words but not much story or surprising revelations revealed by the end.

"Gil...This is what happened–the facts, the reality. I've always found that reality is so much more conventional than imagination. And over the years I've imagined far too many things..."–Ingrid

This is such a beautifully, heartbreaking book! It's also cathartic and hopeful. If I had known the premise of the book, I more than likely wouldn't have been too inclined to read it. Ingrid's letters to her husband kept me turning pages until the very end. What a dear, dear woman.

I won't spoil this review with too many plot details, but the gist of it revolves around Ingrid's account of her marriage to her famous writer husband, Gil. She writes a series of letters and places them in corresponding books from her husband's personal library to be found at some point in the future. Shortly afterwards, she disappears leaving behind her two daughters and so many unanswered questions.

Alternating between present day and 1970s London, this is a wonderful character study about the choices people make, and the effects these decisions have on their futures and those of subsequent generations. Fuller's depiction of motherhood and its various challenges and joys was also so spot on!

"The world had become harder, more abrasive; sheets scratched, clothes irritated, and people grated. It was when I was underwater or in the garden that I felt relief. But precise moments of grief, like the pangs of childbirth, are hard to recall after the most intense pain has passed: nature's trick to ensure we survive and continue to reproduce."

So glad to have read something like this. So deep and poetically written!

I have long followed Claire Fuller on Twitter --- when I was on all the time, before this hiatus I am taking, we Tweeted in the same circles. I hesitate sometimes to read books by people who I "know" --- but, deep breath and sigh of relief, reading Claire Fuller was a rewarding decision. And, apparently I am not the only one to think so, as the HOLD LIST at the library for this book was longer than the one for Lincoln In The Bardo.

The premise: Twelve years after Ingrid Coleman disappeared from her marriage and family, her husband thinks he has seen her. She has left letters to her husband, Gil, a philandering author, in the thousands of books he owns --- one of which has ended up in a second-hand bookshop; he is holding said book in that bookshop, having discovered the letter inside, when he thinks he has seen Ingrid through the window and chases after her, taking a serious fall. His daughter, Flora, who has never believed her mother dead, comes home to take care of her father and discovers (along with us) the truths and deceptions and secrets of her family.

Jumping back and forth between present day and Ingrid's letters from the past, Claire Fuller illuminates a tessellation of detail and particulars in a fast moving but slow reveal which makes for compelling and engrossing reading. This book also happened to have a few things I love dearly: crazy authors, obsessive collectors of books, and erudite writers of letters. I resented every moment I was forced to spend away from this book once I'd started it, so, make sure you have ample time for reading.

I am rather thrilled that I've Claire Fuller's first novel to look forward to, Our Endless Numbered Days.

Odd, unlikeable characters, lovely prose, annoying. Not sure. I kept thinking I had read the book, but I don't think I have. It was published earlier this year. I do not usually forget books that quickly. Through the entire book, I would think it was familiar. As in many other reviews, the end is ambiguous. Not sure I recommend the book.

The Novels of Claire Fuller | Review
SWIMMING LESSONS & OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS

Last fall I began to notice a lot of buzz around Claire Fuller’s upcoming book, Swimming Lessons. So many had loved her debut novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, and they were eager to read her second. I’d somehow missed Fuller’s debut, so decided to squeeze it in last month. Within just a couple of weeks I read both of Fuller’s novels and am reviewing them together today.

Swimming Lessons is the story of a mother who vanished many years ago and the daughter longing to know why. Flora has returned to her childhood home to help care for her dying father who believes he has seen his missing wife, Ingrid. Swimming Lessons, unfolds on two planes: the present with Flora and her father, and the past where Ingrid writes letters to Gil grieving a marriage that was in trouble from the start. Flora adores her father, but cannot let go of the hope that Ingrid, who left her at 9, might reappear in her life. (Tin House Books, 356 pages, 2/7/17)

Our Endless Numbered Days is Peggy’s story. At 8-years old, Peggy and her survivalist father set out on what is supposed to be a summer vacation. They hike deep, deep in the woods to a dilapidated cabin. Peggy doesn’t come out of those woods for 9 years. At eight, Peggy believes whatever James tells her: her mother is dead, the rest of the world has simply fallen away, they are the last two people on Earth. She is devoted to James. He is literally her entire world. As Peggy grows older, fighting for survival winter after winter, she’s forced to see her father through a new lens. (Tin House Books, 382 pages, 3/17/15)

Review: Though the premises of Fuller’s two novels could not have been more different, their basic structures were strikingly similar. Let’s look at some of those similarities and where it was done better.

EGO-CENTRIC FATHERS

In Our Endless Numbered Days, Fuller treats us to a very original character in James. This is a man zealous about two things: survivalism and his daughter. James is obsessed with finding a way to make his family safe before certain disaster arrives. He also adores his daughter. When the real world James lives in becomes more complex than he can navigate, he knows best, takes his daughter and flees. There is much that is not quite right about James.

Swimming Lessons delivers Gil, a once successful author, who gets what he wants. Gil most wants a family (though we’re never really sure why) and when the student Gil’s been having an affair with turns up pregnant, he couldn’t be happier. In rapid succession Gil marries her, moves her to the small seaside village he’s from, and then goes on living the same sort of life he always has. Gil has a “writing shed” at his home. No one is allowed in it, but him. Gil spends his days and most nights out there, but strangely produces very little writing. Still, he loves having his family nearby.

Winner: For me it’s Gil. There was very little to like about Gil. He was always out for Gil with almost no consideration for the women in his life. There was certainly a lot about James not to like, but he was a little less about himself and a little more pathetic.

MOMS THAT LEAVE

Ute, Peggy’s mother in Our Endless Numbered Days, was a concert pianist. She needed to go on tour because it was what she loved and because she was the sole support of her family. Because James took Peggy when Ute was on one of her concert tours, it’s difficult not to put some blame on her. Surely she saw how strange James was acting, how out of touch with reality he seemed to be getting, and yet she left her daughter with him.

The whole story in Swimming Lessons revolves around Ingrid leaving. Fuller did a beautiful job showing the reader why Ingrid might want to just vanish. Through a series of letters to Gil, Ingrid not only recounts the history of their relationship, but lays out why she feels like everyone might be better off without her. I felt sorry for her, but I also wanted to slap her!

Winner: This is a difficult choice. Ingrid leaving permanently (versus Ute going on tour) seems a more devastating choice and it certainly was for Flora and her sister, Nan. But, when Ute left Peggy with James the result for her child was far worse. So I have to give this one to Ute.

DAUGHTERS WHO LOVE THEIR DADS

In Our Endless Numbered Days, Peggy really adored her dad. He was the fun parent from the very start. He’d let her miss school to go on adventures with him, he was always interested in what she had to say and would try to teach her things. When they’re at the cabin James is all Peggy has. She believes the rest of the world is gone and Peggy clings fiercely to James for a long time. It’s only as she gets older, that Peggy begins to see cracks in the things her father has told her. Even when Peggy is back with her mother, she still loves the father who was really her captor for nine long years.

Even before her mother vanished in Swimming Lessons, Flora was a “Daddy’s Girl.” Perhaps because he was so often gone, every minute she spent with him was special. When he was gone for long periods of time, Flora drove Ingrid crazy asking about him. After Ingrid’s disappearance, Flora’s loyalty to her father was unwavering. He was still absent from much of her day-to-day life, spending most of his time in the “writing shed,” but Flora happily turned a blind eye to all of Gil’s eccentricities. Much of the story is about Flora opening her eyes to both her parent’s flaws.

Winner: Easily, Peggy. Peggy’s unwavering love of her father made perfect sense. He was all she had from the time she was eight years old until she was seventeen. All. And still, part of her was able to see through that love and realize something was off with her father. On the other hand, Flora lived with her father and sister in a town and was out in the world. She grew up around other people, had access to the world, went off to college, and still was unwilling to see her father’s foibles.

CONCLUSION

I think both of Claire Fuller’s novels are very good. I was captivated by Our Endless Numbered Days right from the start. Peggy was an amazing, insightful narrator. I liked how her story moved back and forth between the time James and Peggy were in the cabin and when Peggy was back with Ute. It was a book that was hard to put down. Swimming Lessons was a little harder to become immersed in. I didn’t really feel it picked up until about the halfway point. While Peggy was a character I adored, connecting with the characters in Swimming Lessons was more difficult. I liked Ingrid the most, but also was frustrated with her lack of gumption.

I enjoyed getting to know Ingrid and her story through the letters she was writing to Gil. It was an excellent choice on Fuller’s part. She had Flora experience people in terms of scent and color. I grew to anticipate her impression of each new person. In both books Fuller’s writing is wonderfully clear and thoughtful. Her prose are easy to read with just the perfect amount of description. From Our Endless Numbered Days:

“The rhythm of our days cocooned me, reassured and comforted me. I slipped onto it without thought, so that the life we lived – in an isolated cabin on a crust of land, with the rest of the world simply wiped away, like a damp cloth passed across a chalked blackboard – became my unquestioned normality.”

If you only have time for one Claire Fuller book, I recommend Our Endless Numbered Days, but both are worth reading.

Swimming Lessons – Grade: B
Our Endless Numbered Days – Grade: A

Note: I received a copy of Swimming Lessons from the publisher (via Net Galley) in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer: There are the store Affiliate links contained within this post.

The Novels of Claire Fuller | Review
SWIMMING LESSONS & OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS

Last fall I began to notice a lot of buzz around Claire Fuller’s upcoming book, Swimming Lessons. So many had loved her debut novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, and they were eager to read her second. I’d somehow missed Fuller’s debut, so decided to squeeze it in last month. Within just a couple of weeks I read both of Fuller’s novels and am reviewing them together today.

Swimming Lessons is the story of a mother who vanished many years ago and the daughter longing to know why. Flora has returned to her childhood home to help care for her dying father who believes he has seen his missing wife, Ingrid. Swimming Lessons, unfolds on two planes: the present with Flora and her father, and the past where Ingrid writes letters to Gil grieving a marriage that was in trouble from the start. Flora adores her father, but cannot let go of the hope that Ingrid, who left her at 9, might reappear in her life. (Tin House Books, 356 pages, 2/7/17)

Our Endless Numbered Days is Peggy’s story. At 8-years old, Peggy and her survivalist father set out on what is supposed to be a summer vacation. They hike deep, deep in the woods to a dilapidated cabin. Peggy doesn’t come out of those woods for 9 years. At eight, Peggy believes whatever James tells her: her mother is dead, the rest of the world has simply fallen away, they are the last two people on Earth. She is devoted to James. He is literally her entire world. As Peggy grows older, fighting for survival winter after winter, she’s forced to see her father through a new lens. (Tin House Books, 382 pages, 3/17/15)

Review: Though the premises of Fuller’s two novels could not have been more different, their basic structures were strikingly similar. Let’s look at some of those similarities and where it was done better.

EGO-CENTRIC FATHERS

In Our Endless Numbered Days, Fuller treats us to a very original character in James. This is a man zealous about two things: survivalism and his daughter. James is obsessed with finding a way to make his family safe before certain disaster arrives. He also adores his daughter. When the real world James lives in becomes more complex than he can navigate, he knows best, takes his daughter and flees. There is much that is not quite right about James.

Swimming Lessons delivers Gil, a once successful author, who gets what he wants. Gil most wants a family (though we’re never really sure why) and when the student Gil’s been having an affair with turns up pregnant, he couldn’t be happier. In rapid succession Gil marries her, moves her to the small seaside village he’s from, and then goes on living the same sort of life he always has. Gil has a “writing shed” at his home. No one is allowed in it, but him. Gil spends his days and most nights out there, but strangely produces very little writing. Still, he loves having his family nearby.

Winner: For me it’s Gil. There was very little to like about Gil. He was always out for Gil with almost no consideration for the women in his life. There was certainly a lot about James not to like, but he was a little less about himself and a little more pathetic.

MOMS THAT LEAVE

Ute, Peggy’s mother in Our Endless Numbered Days, was a concert pianist. She needed to go on tour because it was what she loved and because she was the sole support of her family. Because James took Peggy when Ute was on one of her concert tours, it’s difficult not to put some blame on her. Surely she saw how strange James was acting, how out of touch with reality he seemed to be getting, and yet she left her daughter with him.

The whole story in Swimming Lessons revolves around Ingrid leaving. Fuller did a beautiful job showing the reader why Ingrid might want to just vanish. Through a series of letters to Gil, Ingrid not only recounts the history of their relationship, but lays out why she feels like everyone might be better off without her. I felt sorry for her, but I also wanted to slap her!

Winner: This is a difficult choice. Ingrid leaving permanently (versus Ute going on tour) seems a more devastating choice and it certainly was for Flora and her sister, Nan. But, when Ute left Peggy with James the result for her child was far worse. So I have to give this one to Ute.

DAUGHTERS WHO LOVE THEIR DADS

In Our Endless Numbered Days, Peggy really adored her dad. He was the fun parent from the very start. He’d let her miss school to go on adventures with him, he was always interested in what she had to say and would try to teach her things. When they’re at the cabin James is all Peggy has. She believes the rest of the world is gone and Peggy clings fiercely to James for a long time. It’s only as she gets older, that Peggy begins to see cracks in the things her father has told her. Even when Peggy is back with her mother, she still loves the father who was really her captor for nine long years.

Even before her mother vanished in Swimming Lessons, Flora was a “Daddy’s Girl.” Perhaps because he was so often gone, every minute she spent with him was special. When he was gone for long periods of time, Flora drove Ingrid crazy asking about him. After Ingrid’s disappearance, Flora’s loyalty to her father was unwavering. He was still absent from much of her day-to-day life, spending most of his time in the “writing shed,” but Flora happily turned a blind eye to all of Gil’s eccentricities. Much of the story is about Flora opening her eyes to both her parent’s flaws.

Winner: Easily, Peggy. Peggy’s unwavering love of her father made perfect sense. He was all she had from the time she was eight years old until she was seventeen. All. And still, part of her was able to see through that love and realize something was off with her father. On the other hand, Flora lived with her father and sister in a town and was out in the world. She grew up around other people, had access to the world, went off to college, and still was unwilling to see her father’s foibles.

CONCLUSION

I think both of Claire Fuller’s novels are very good. I was captivated by Our Endless Numbered Days right from the start. Peggy was an amazing, insightful narrator. I liked how her story moved back and forth between the time James and Peggy were in the cabin and when Peggy was back with Ute. It was a book that was hard to put down. Swimming Lessons was a little harder to become immersed in. I didn’t really feel it picked up until about the halfway point. While Peggy was a character I adored, connecting with the characters in Swimming Lessons was more difficult. I liked Ingrid the most, but also was frustrated with her lack of gumption.

I enjoyed getting to know Ingrid and her story through the letters she was writing to Gil. It was an excellent choice on Fuller’s part. She had Flora experience people in terms of scent and color. I grew to anticipate her impression of each new person. In both books Fuller’s writing is wonderfully clear and thoughtful. Her prose are easy to read with just the perfect amount of description. From Our Endless Numbered Days:

“The rhythm of our days cocooned me, reassured and comforted me. I slipped onto it without thought, so that the life we lived – in an isolated cabin on a crust of land, with the rest of the world simply wiped away, like a damp cloth passed across a chalked blackboard – became my unquestioned normality.”

If you only have time for one Claire Fuller book, I recommend Our Endless Numbered Days, but both are worth reading.

Swimming Lessons – Grade: B
Our Endless Numbered Days – Grade: A

Note: I received a copy of Swimming Lessons from the publisher (via Net Galley) in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer: There are the store Affiliate links contained within this post.

Very well written, perfectly paced, and now I can’t stop thinking about the story, and I love how authors create these beautiful stories, some pain but still, a good ending. Maybe one loose end could have been tied...

What a good little weird book! Well worth reading, but expect a different kind of reading experience.I liked the way the letters (the past) were intermixed with the present, and thought the ending was pretty good. I'd recommend this book.

A great book to read and especially for discussion as a book group. There were lots of points of views and scenarios to play out and we all were "haunted" by this read.
The author kindly emailed us discussion questions and we had one of the best book group discussions.
Be sure this as a solo or group!

After reading the description of this book, I wanted to buy it and read it immediately, not leave it hanging on my TBR list. I was intrigued by the idea of Ingrid hiding letters in her husband’s books. I thought I knew what would happen with Gil and Ingrid. But as I read the book, I was surprised over and over by new developments in the story of their marriage. I really enjoyed her descriptions of the characters, books, and writing. This is a story about Ingrid and Gil’s marriage and their relationship with their friends. It is also a story about their relationship with their children and their childrens’ adult relationships. We get to know Ingrid by reading her letters and we see Gil through her eyes. This book would make a great selection for a book club. There is so much that could be analyzed throughout the book, especially within the relationships in it.

Ingrid Coleman disappears one day in 1992 leaving behind two daughters and one philandering husband. She's left behind a chronicle of their marriage, tucked into the books her husband, a novelist, collects obsessively.