Swimming in the dark
£9.99
You were right when you said that people can’t always give us what we want from them. Poland, 1980. Anxious, disillusioned Ludwik Glowacki, soon to graduate university, has been sent along with the rest of his class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz – and together, they spend a dreamlike summer swimming in secluded lakes, reading forbidden books – and falling in love. But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw, and to the harsh realities of life under the Party. Exiled from paradise, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.
**Selected for Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club 2024**
LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE 2021
A Guardian Book of the Year
‘The highest talent at work’ Sebastian Barry
‘Beautiful ? A masterpiece’ Attitude
Poland, 1980. Shy, anxious Ludwik has been sent along with the rest of his university class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz – and together they spend a dreamlike summer falling in love.
But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw. Confronted by the scrutiny, intolerance and corruption of life under the Party, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.
‘An affecting and unusual romance’ Observer
‘A new classic’ Evening Standard
‘A beautiful novel, and at its heart an amazing love story’ BBC Radio 4 Open Book, Editor’s Pick
‘Jedrowski is an authentic new international star’ Edmund White
‘A remarkable, beautiful tale, utterly new and entirely credible … This book radiates sensuality, humour, and human truths’ Literary Review
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