A review by knkoch
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

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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