I adored this book. It’s such a lovely love story.
The writing in this book is just wonderful.
The ending absolutely broke me.
Just wow. What a book

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A searing, vivid look at a love story and all the all-too-real reasons why people can fall apart. I have honestly never read a book that paints politics as something that comes between love but, in the world that we live in, I have to wonder why. This is a book like no other I have read before and I loved it so much that I went out and bought a physical copy.

This debut book is so beautiful. It reminded me of another of my favourite books this year, Open Water. Short, lyrical, young love. But switch modern London for 1980's Communist Poland.

I know nothing about this era so found it interesting and love a book that educates you as well as entertains. 

Ludwik and Janusz bond over a secret copy of James Baldwin's iconic gay novel Giovanni's Room. And I loved how it is weaved throughout the story. Ludwik has many feelings of shame growing up gay. But once he reads Giovanni's Room and befriends Janusz he gains more confidence.

But after a few months it is obvious the two young men want different things as they leave university and move on to the next stage in their lives. Ludwik cannot stand back and watch what is happening to his country, he wants to escape. Whereas Janusz wants to get a good job with the Party and receive all the perks that would entail.

I loved these characters so much and was so invested in their story. A beautiful book I wish I'd read sooner. But one that will stay with me forever.

"We searched for words, each one of us, trying to say something that meant anything. In the end we just said goodbye. We said it casually, like we would see each other again soon or maybe like people who had never been much more than acquaintances"

Swimming in the Dark was such an interesting read, with so many touching and thought-provoking themes.
It is difficult not to empathise with young Ludwik and Janusz's story, from the idyllic beginnings of their love to the difficult moral choices that await them on their path to adulthood. I particularly related to Ludwik's decision at the end of the book and was completely overwhelmed by the bittersweetness of its consequences.
Definitely recommended!

This is a beautiful book of love at a difficult period in history. I found the historical backdrop really insightful and this along with such wonderful characters took me on an emotional journey that I felt privileged to be part of while reading this book.

Set in Poland in the 1980s, this book centres around a young graduate - Ludwik who falls in love over the summer when he meets Janusz. This intense relationship is kept secret due to the layers of shame that have built up through internalised homophobia, societal discrimination and an oppressive government.

Here Jedrowski is able to realistically portray how the political context in which we live acts not only as a backdrop to our lives but also impacts us directly. From subtle changes in a local community to life altering circumstances - we can see how the political can influence and alter our daily lives. The writing here is not prescriptive but it reads as an organic development of the plot.

The characterisation in this novel fell a little weak for me, which may in part be intentional. Within the first person narration of Ludwik, he is working through the shame felt through his internalised homophobia and there is perhaps little interrogation into Ludwik’s character as he is avoiding this self reflection out of shame. However this lack of characterisation is also extended to the other characters - especially his close friends, who felt I didn’t not really get much depth into their personalities, thoughts or aspirations.

The central relationship felt like the weight of this novel and the emotional intensity kept me invested in the storyline. I would say that a good pairing would be Open Water, by Caleb Azumah Nelson as they both touch on this idea of ‘water’ as having the capacity to free oneself from the shame or the emotional weight of societal expectations. Also they both seem to be influenced by the work of James Baldwin which is always a plus!

A beautifully sentimental, heartbreaking novel surrounding queerness in Poland during a declining communist regime. The narrator is writing to a lover he had while living in Poland during the 1980s - telling their stories of love and desire back to him, and laying out his thoughts and feelings surrounding their secret, hidden relationship.

It’s incredibly heartbreaking to read, as the narrator (Ludwik) talks you through the beautiful scenes of him and his lover’s (Janusz) first meeting, how they bonded and fell in love. Then as the novel progresses the idyllic scene that you were first met with crumbles in so many ways. Ultimately the need to escape, be accepted and to live in freedom comes between them. Ludwik wants to escape the brutalities of his hometown, whereas Janusz is eager to make use of the advantages given to him - accepting his life this way.

Jedrowski does a brilliant job of showing life under such a corrupt and dangerous regime. It’s incredibly harrowing.
What a brilliant, eye-opening book.
Will be researching more into the LGBTQ+ community in Poland and its history since this read.

Ludwik, the narrator of Swimming in the Dark is looking back from exile at his slightly younger self in 1980 Poland. 18 year old Ludwik falls in love with Janusz at a agricultural working camp, and has a blissful summer trip with him, swimming, camping in the forest and making love. Back in Warsaw, the harsh realities of adult life under Gierek's repressive regime come into focus, and both young men have to make choices about who they are and how they want to live. Tomasz Jedrowski has written a brilliant lyrical story of first love, politics and sacrifice.

I'm not sure there are words to describe how stunning this book is.

There are the obvious comparisons to Call MY By Your Name but that doesn't do it justice as this is infinitely better. Swimming in the Dark is a novel that can't be compared to anything else purely because Jedrowski's writing is so beautiful and poetic. Each page had me falling in love which forced me to read it slowly to savour every word.

Quite an unusual book and I liked that it was inspired by James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room which I loved. A story of gay love in 1980s Poland and the challenges of being who you are under such a regime. A coming of age, coming out story, tender and raw.

I thought this was a powerful and impressive first novel which did a great job of conveying the constraints of the political climate in question. In my opinion the editor could have advised the author to rein it in on the similes etc - this detracted from my appreciation of the story and the writing, which is otherwise excellent.

This is a beautiful, tender exploration of forbidden love. I really loved the style of writing and the way the key relationship was presented.

A tender story of gay love set in Communist Poland - which draws explicitly on James Baldwin's “Giovanni's Room”. but could also be said to merge Garth Greenwell with Milan Kundera

The formatting on my Kindle made this unreadable unfortunately. I've been reading excellent reviews for this now that it's been released though so I'll buy it instead!

An aching book of finding freedom and missing the cage. 1980s Poland is grim and being gay is grimmer. Good prose, elegiac and deeply intimate

Heartbreaking, raw, full of angst. Plus communism. There's nothing like being "different" under an oppressive political system who endeavours to control even the thoughts of its citizens.
A slim but complex novel: a coming of age, sexual turmoil and coming to terms with own sexuality, a in depth portrait of Poland on the brink of overturning the oppressive communist regime.

This book is an outstanding piece of gay fiction. It is an emotionally powerful, yet tender, coming of age drama that completely absorbed me in its love story which is set against a back drop of 1980s communist Poland. This was a period in history that I was unfamiliar with and I found it a real eye opener.

The story is told through the eyes of Ludwik Glowacki, almost like an open letter as he reminisces about the challenges of growing up in a country under Soviet rule, where both being gay and an independent thinker sets him at odds with those around him. His emotional sense of loneliness is palpable in this book, Ludwik not only struggles with coming to terms with being gay but also finding a voice in a society that only wants conformity.

The forbidden relationship with Janusz is beautiful in its simplicity and it is through him that Ludwik starts to make sense of the world. However, sometimes love is not enough to conquer all. I definitely don’t want to spoil anything, all I will say is there is one line in this book that is like a gut punch and had me in tears on my commute.

Beautiful, touching, heart breaking ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five

A sad and melancholy tale of a forbidden gay relationship in 1980s Poland, a story of loss and betrayal. It’s narrated by Ludwik, who on a compulsory school work camp meets and falls in love with Janusz. Although his feelings are reciprocated, Janusz is not prepared to compromise his future for a love that must always remain hidden. For me the most interesting aspect of the novel is the glimpse it gives of daily life in Poland at that time, life under a harsh Communist regime, with political unrest simmering in the background – the repression, censorship, shortages, endless queues, and rampant corruption. There’s no place for gay love under such a regime and there’s no place for Ludwik, who unlike Janusz, is not willing to compromise his feelings for personal advancement. An excellent and moving read.

An impressive debut written in English by a German born author with Polish heritage focuses on the relationship between two young men set in Poland during the late 70’s/early 80’s at a time of great unrest.
The pair meet at a summer work camp picking beetroots and the development of this blossoming connection is handled very effectively. Behind much of this lies another book, “Giovanni’s Room” by American author James Baldwin, a suppressed text which main character and narrator Ludwik glues between the covers of another publication becoming the link which forges he and Janusz closer together.
This relationship is threatened by the atmosphere in Poland and the political differences between the two men. The whole narrative is directed towards Janusz as an explanation behind the actions and feelings Ludwik had at the time which he could not express to him face to face. The difficulties of dealing with same sex attraction at different times and places appears in many novels I have read but I feel that these stories need telling and retelling and this literary work is a very welcome addition to this.
My slight quibble is to do with the number of chance encounters the two men seem to have but maybe when attraction is that strong they can’t avoid the pull of fate that places them in similar locations at the same time. It had the feel of Andre Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name” which became an Oscar winning film, especially stylistically in this book’s more languid moments but I think I may have enjoyed Jedrowski’s novel slightly more