Reviews with content warning for Dementia - The Swimmers

Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

115 reviews

shays's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

The Swimmers is pervaded by a creeping sense of unease and impending loss. The buoyancy of the pool drains away as the crack grows, the community splintering, Alice’s memory slipping, her daughter grieving the loss of a woman who is still alive but largely gone. It is too late for them to make up for lost time. That anxiety is counterpointed by the rhythm of Otsuka’s prose, concise but striking, which has a poignant beauty even in describing a slow-motion tragedy.

Full review: https://shayshortt.com/2023/08/08/the-swimmers/

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cmankus's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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bon_xx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mhcg's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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itschelseaw's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What happens to our lives when our routines are suddenly taken away? When what tethered you to a specific reality or life is gone? In The Swimmers some of the swimmers created a new routine while others floundered and couldn’t figure it out.
One such swimmer, Alice, has had her routines seemingly disrupted her entire life, starting with the internment camps in the USA during WWII. Her adult life is disrupted by the death of her mother, then the development of dementia, and the closure of the pool. These disruptions to her life tumble into each other, and the ending is tender and heartbreaking.
Watching my father slowly, then rapidly, die was incredibly difficult, and it only took the span of 1 year. I can’t imagine years upon years of visiting your parent and knowing that things won’t improve but holding out hope that they will. The little things they did and loved and talked about that become the things that ultimately haunt you.
Tender and touching, especially at the end.

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swetha062's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

At first I remained skeptical, with heavy descriptions of swimmers those who love swimming. With noticeable cracks, the book gets deeper into the minds of narrator's mother and in return narrator herself. She narrates the book beautifully, exploring memories in a way that I have never read before. So, thank you for writing!

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ronan_lesh's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

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sianjkh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

The Swimmers is two entirely different books stiched together which, unfortunately, didn't work at all for me. The beginning is playful, funny, and reminiscent of Nightvale in its descriptions. The second half is a slow burning ache in your heart.

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threeara's review against another edition

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4.5

Absolutely heartbreaking. The format took me a while to get into, and the whole thing felt a bit misleading in premise, but very effective.

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mollyb13's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is a very different book than I expected it to be. I would describe this as a fictional, non-technical study on dementia from many points of view - daughter, a dementia care home, the dementia patient herself. I think the multiple POVs really added to the story and the writing was beautiful. Really a tough subject though and hard to read if you've had loved ones suffering with memory loss.

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