Swimming With My Father : A Memoir

by Tim Jeal

This is a tender portrait of childhood, growing up, and of a father who was uniquely English eccentric. From his own embarrassing schoolboy meeting with T.S. Eliot to his father's struggle with Parkinson's, it is a lovingly composed, honest exploration of the past.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Tim Jeal is the author of acclaimed biographies of Livingstone and Baden-Powell. His memoir, Swimming with My Father, was published by Faber in 2004 and was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley Prize for Autobiography. He is also a novelist and a former winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's elegant, heartfelt prose quickly drew me into this beautifully executed memoir. I soon felt so immersed in his recollections about family relationships, particularly that with his father, and the effects on him of growing up with such a gentle but eccentric man, that I ended up reading the book in one sitting. I found it very moving at times and admired Tim Jeal's insightful honesty about both the positive and the more problematic impacts of his relationships with both parents .. and I also very much enjoyed the humour which ran through his memoir.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of an eccentric father and a sometimes bewildered son

[JackieB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really get into this memoir. I think it's because the father belonged to an unorthodox mystical type of Christianity and he followed this without compromise. I think such single minded adherence to amything is alien to me so I couldn't really understand him. He was also full of contradictions. For example he tried to get registered as a conscientious objector during the second world war because of his religious beliefs but wasn't able to and by the end of the war he changed from his non combatant role and was serving as a commando. He was clearly a deep thinking man who sincerely believed in his religion so I would have loved to know what made him change his mind. I would also have liked to know why he rejected conventional christianity in favour of the form which he followed which among other things believed in reincarnation. Christianity as a whole (as far as I know) rejects the idea of reincaration so this form is very unusual. I think there were so many contradictions in this memoir that I never really felt I had any understanding of its subject and becuase of this my interest waned towards the end.

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A candid, moving account of the author's relationship with his father and mother. He also reveals how his parents endured a lifetime together despite having incompatible views and personalities. He reveals how his parents' persevered with their strained relationship through a series of vignettes, each one revealing something about their personalities. It is obvious the author loved both of his parents, he does not take sides and leaves the reader to reach their own conclusions. The author's account of his father's decline due to Parkinson's dementia is particularly poignant and will move anyone who has seen a parent suffer the same fate.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of this unusual memoir is the growing understanding of the eccentric and spiritual man who was Tim Jeal's father as we, the reader, come to know and respect him along with his son writing of his father's gradual decline into Parkinson's Disease. It is also a portrait of a marriage between two opposites who, despite their differences, maintained a strong and loving relationship. Great moral questions are raised along the way. A memoir of enormous depth.

[Victoria Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it a first but then found it a little depressing. Some lovely poignant incidents, such as walking to school. His childhood in the 50s.

[Duncan Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensitive and beautiful.