Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

29 reviews

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

This book started so strong - the story of the swimmers was fantastic, and I hoped that was the direction it was going to continue in. I found that Alice's story and how it was told just didn't work for me. It felt disjointed from the first part of the book and that it didn't go deep enough into anything to stand on its own. I think this might have been better as a short story focused only on the swimmers, or as a longer novel that had more time to focus on Alice and her relationship with her daughter. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness and Dementia

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide, Car accident, and War

phoevincent's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Dementia, and Death of parent

aseel_reads's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

The first half of this made me want to start swimming again and the second half of this made me want to hug my mum and a bit worried about the dementia genes in my family...

I really liked the way this was written, in the repetitive way of stating facts that advanced the plot, pretty unique and very easy to understand. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Racism

angela_iseli's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Dementia, and Death of parent

annie_crossings's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Mass/school shootings

rainbowarpaint's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

enlamont's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Dementia

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Infertility, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

flower_mail's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement and War

Minor: Child death

knkoch's review against another edition

mysterious relaxing sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

Again, something experimental! But not all experiments work, and this one didn't for me. It felt like the first and second half were two separate ideas stitched together and I wasn't fully convinced that it worked. I liked the first half better, though it still felt too light: not enough characterization or strong senses of people to really deepen things. There were so many people, pool-goers, listed early on that it became clear that all but one were just set decoration, tossed-off quirks fit for only a sentence. There was a strong vibe with the setting in the first half, but even for a short book it felt like it carried on a bit too long. 

The second half felt quite different, and while I appreciated the deeper characterization and focus on Alice, it felt jarring to shift away from the pool and what Otsuka seemed to be building earlier in the book. I guess the best interpretation I could see for these two very different halves coming together is 

that I could see how the routine of the pool community, and the anxiety over the crack and pool closure could be read as the sort of slow decline and degradation of Alice's mind and life as her dementia progressed. Her life, the pool and everything else, splinters and comes apart. But then I guess I'm left wondering, did the pool really close or is the story so set in Alice's mind that it just closed for her? Unexpectedly, without clear rational reasons, because that's how confusing and disorienting dementia may feel for those experiencing it? I suppose, but then the detailed reactions of everyone else in the community reacting to the pool closure doesn't make sense. Maybe they're reacting to her leaving?

I did like that Otsuka had a strong sense of style in her writing, and that she went to unexpected places in the story. I liked the use of second person, and in general the shifting sense of both vague and character-specific narration. I think I would try another book by her, as I'm finding that more compelling these days than sheer plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Forced institutionalization

Terminal illness:

non-Alzheimer's dementia.