Publication Date: 07th May 2025
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/TheSwim
Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223328936-the-swim
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Introspective but too slow and long
Book Blurb:
Cordelia Franks never finishes anything
and has spent a lifetime hiding in the shadows.
So, when she decides to train to swim the English
Channel, she understands why no one believes she can do it. She doesn’t really
believe she can either, but she’s determined to try.
As she strides into the Channel with hours
stretching ahead of her, Cordelia swims against every milestone in her life so
far. Every failed relationship, every friendship let go, every exam failed,
every tricky job she quit. A life lived never giving it her all. Until now.
With every stroke, with every mile, Cordelia knows
that this is finally her moment. Because if she keeps this promise to herself,
if she doesn’t give up, nothing will ever be the same again.
And waiting in France is an unimagined future and
someone who does believe in her…
***
My Thoughts:
The story comes in Cordelia’s first-person POV with a few random chapters from others’ third-person POVs.
I was tempted by the premise of a woman with past
trauma taking up such a challenge to prove her worth to herself first.
Naturally, her past wouldn’t be easy, and as expected, it wasn’t.
The first-person POV does a good job of taking the
readers into the MC’s mind and the mess inside it. The narrative style is a bit
chaotic initially, but you’ll get used to the pattern. Though I haven’t watched
the movies she mentions, I could understand their significance in her life.
The pacing is super slow, which works in the first
half. However, the second half feels stretched beyond its limit. Many times, I
caught myself looking at the % and wondering when we’ll get to the endpoint.
The book could have been 30-40 pages shorter. This would have made the whole
concept more effective, too.
There are many hard themes here – fat shaming,
dysfunctional families, selfish mothers, toxic relationships, bulimia, body
dysmorphia, self-destruction, mental illness, racism, homophobia, AIDS, bullying,
generational trauma, and many more.
This is a heavy read, and as more details are
revealed, it gets heavier. That’s okay to an extent. It is good to wind the key
and keep the reader in a state of suspended tension for the MC. However,
over-tightening the key and repeating the pattern after it has been established
works in reverse. That’s what happened in the second half. I first thought this
would be a 4.5-star read, easily.
The MC is not exactly likable. She is flawed and has
a truckload of trauma to process, which she refuses to do. While the swimming
does bring some growth in her arc, there isn’t a lot of progress. In a way,
this is realistic. People don’t change so quickly after all. But as a reader,
it doesn’t feel frustrating. Of course, there were so many instances when I
wanted to hug her younger version.
The side characters are decent. Derek/ Desi, the
cousin, stands out for being the one person who stood for the MC despite
everything. I really liked that guy. David was okay. He tried his best.
We get random third-person POVs from around 45%.
While Desi’s POVs were useful and David’s POV was necessary, I can’t say the
same for the others. These felt more like a way to provide the missing detail.
But we already have too much information!
The book ends on a hopeful note, and we can only
hope the MC won’t revert to her self-destructive ways. At least, we won’t know
if she does!
To summarize, The Swim is a slow-paced,
introspective, and heavy read about coming to terms with one’s past trauma. It
is a good book.
Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood
Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion
about the book.
#NetGalley
***
About the Author - Janet Hoggarth
Janet Hoggarth is the number one bestselling author
of The Single Mums' Mansion and the highly successful Single Mums' subsequent
series. She has worked on a chicken farm, as a bookseller, a children’s book
editor, a children’s author, and as a DJ (under the name of Whitney and
Britney!). She lives with her family in East Dulwich, London.
Follow the Author:
Facebook: @JanetHoggarthAuthor
Twitter: @JanetHAuthor
Instagram: @janet_hoggarth_author
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JanetHoggarthnews
Bookbub Profile: @JanetHoggarth1
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This has been a stop on the #TheSwim blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources (@rararesources). Thanks for stopping by!
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