Breaststrokes

by Margaux Vialleron

A novel on consent told in five acts over the course of one weekend. Cloe and Gertrude and the Jenkins-Bell sisters, Mathilde and Sarah, have never met. They are strangers who share only a city. It is Sunday morning. Cloe has woken-up in someone else’s home; Gertrude starts her shift in the pub kitchen, while Mathilde and Sarah are on their way to lunch. Soon, these four women’s lives will overlap. Saturday felt like a normal day, but on Sunday the past will catch-up with them as they realise that there never is only one side to a story.Sharply observed and painfully relatable, Breaststrokes is a novel that seems to emerge from the haze of our current time. This story of unexpected encounters and intimacies is perfect for fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and Beautiful World, Where Are You.

Genres: Fiction, Unfinished

Paperback

First published May 9, 2024

Reviews

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breaststrokes is a book that on paper sounded right up my street, but in reality didn’t really work. Thematically it’s so interesting - consent, womanhood, vulnerability, childhood trauma, abuse, #MeToo - but stylistically this was as dry as a bone. It almost read like an academic paper/case study at times. There’s a whiff of Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney about it.

It explores the story of four women (Sarah, Mathilde, Gertrude and Cloe), and their backgrounds, childhood, life experiences and relationships.

There is very little dialogue in the book, the writing is descriptive with lots of telling and little showing, lots of detached observations and precise descriptions, and much of the time I felt pretty bored.

This was probably a 2 star read in terms of enjoyment, but 3 stars for the quality of the discussion around consent and women’s bodies. Mixed feelings really. 3/5⭐️

[Tyler Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel that leaves you thinking.

Margaux gives us a wide and introspective view on womanhood and consent by sharing the stories of four different woman who have similar experiences. I really enjoyed this authors writing style and the time she took to carve out Gertrude, Chloe, Mathilde and Sarah, I could clearly picture each of these charters as I was reading this novel and in turn felt connected to these women, reading their experiences and how well Vialleron portrays these touchy subjects its hard not to feel every emotion these four are feeling.

This is an easy and quick read that sits at just over three hundred pages. Packed with emotions, vulnerability and perseverance I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books that keep you think long after you've finished the read.

[Jess Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ the prologue and the last part were the best parts. Everything else lost me. Feel like this could have been better executed but I struggled through until the last section when they all meet and I had the aha moment.

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something so sumptuous about Margaux Vialleron's writing. It's so arresting and pertinent too.

[annatheworstbanana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for allowing me to read Breaststrokes by Margaux Vialleron.

This novel shares the stories of four women: Cloe, Gertrude, and two sisters: Mathilde, and Sarah. Over five acts, we learn about their experiences with consent, throughout their childhoods and in the present day.

This book was sensitively and thoughtfully written. It discusses triggering topics with authentic consideration. Every part of the story is full of rich meaning, including the title, which takes on more and more meanings as the reader continues with the novel.

I would not be surprised to see this becoming an instrumental part of discourse surrounding consent and gender.

[Lucy Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise and some of the writing was lovely to read, but mostly I was bored. The characters are overhwhelmingly sad and I didn’t enjoy that as a dominating feeling of the book. There was lots of mundane description that seemed unnecessary, and I just found myself waiting for it to end. A lot of it felt quite pretentious, as if it was trying too hard to sound poetic and deep. There was too little plot so I couldn’t latch onto things enough, and I feel like I didn’t learn enough about the characters to properly care about them.

[Emer Tannam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book pretentious, boring, and annoying. Most of the interactions between characters didn’t ring true. The style was confusing at times, as in I didn’t know who or what she was referring to. There are little snatches of poetry in Gertrude’s sections. So annoying. I kept having to remind myself who was who. There was one line about how friendships from school change that I liked but most of it was just boring or annoying. I would not recommend this.

[Sarah P · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Elj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tender story about four women, a weekend in London that ends with a chance encounter and the ever-present question of consent.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such beautiful writing, as always, with such complex characters and thought-provoking conversations.

[Deece de Paor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good.

[Naturalbri (Bri Wignall) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a relatable topic, for everyone to engage with today. It is written from the perspective of four women, but the topic of consent and intimacy pertains to all and this book is one that should be read by all, to help deepen the understanding of what happens, on both sides of consent.
The book softly delves into the four lives of the women and they overlap, allowing us to journey into their lives and see ways in which consent and intimacy have come to affect them and how that plays on their lives. It is written in a way that puts the topic toward your honestly, but in a gentle approach. You are able to understand what they have gone through and ponder about it and the outcomes yourself, but nothing is done in a slapdash way.
I found the overall story and the points it had to make very pertinent to today's culture and really offers a step for people to start with in their understanding of the topic and its importance.

[Nic Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a thought provoking read.

It covers some really interesting and important topics.

I enjoyed following the story through the tales of the four women who had different experiences with some distinct similarities. I appreciated the attention paid. to consent which is such an important topic and I could see this being a great book for something like a book club to prompt discussion about consent.

The writing style was accessible and easy to read. I liked how the book was formatted and felt this made it easy to read.

This is well written, sensitive and an important book

[Verity Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reallyyyyy wish I had more to say about this, I really wanted to like it and thought the concept was beautiful, I just really struggled with it. A lot of it felt pretentious and difficult to follow in parts - all the character's stories were too complex and it made things really convoluted. Complexity can be done really well, and I love deep layers to characters, but here it started to scratch that itch before often becoming a little confusing. It feels harsh because I don't think this was the case, but it sometimes made me feel like she was writing about these things for the sake of it, not because of their significance and importance. There were some really beautiful sections of prose on womanhood and consent itself, but overall I fear that was overshadowed by an air of pretentiousness that took away from the message and whole concept of the book, which is a shame really, because I do feel like if I'd have met these women in a different way, I really would have adored them.

[Apgepps · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored for most of this, kept getting the characters confused for the first half, and wasn’t a fan of the random poetry. If I did dnf books, I reckon I would’ve given up, just because it really didn’t hold my interest.
The water theme felt a bit laboured, as did all the „random“ connections between characters.

I did like the experimental writing style and switch of narrative voices, and the complexity of relationships.

[Julie LaFontaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must have started this ages ago, because it was definitely overdue from the library. I wanted to like this at the end- with topics of consent and grooming, but it was a little too much for me. I think this could be very useful for people but the metaphor with swimming was the main relatable point for me. It was hard to like some of the main characters the way they were depicted at the bar

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I don’t speak up, therefore I agree.”

“Could I have consented to something I don’t remember? Who establishes the rules about what consent is?”

“Do scars speak for themselves? I wish, I hope.”

I get the point of this book, and absolutely appreciate the main theme –consent in all its forms, but this read was a difficult (and tedious at times, too) one.

[Philly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really really wanted to love this book. I loved the themes but in reality it was hard to get into and I almost dnf multiple times. Just when I started to get into it at the last few chapters it was finished.
Too bad because it had a lot of potential and I can’t really put my finger on why the book didn’t grab me.

[Leanne Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a deeply relatable and well-written book. The writing draws you in, and it demanded my full attention as each word is thoughtful, layered, and purposeful. I found myself needing to slow down and concentrate, a powerful, honest read

[CJ Mason The Fallen Librarian Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review for this book is on my blog https://thefallenlibrarian.wordpress....

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Francesca Dutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Good idea, badly executed - too many convoluted story lines that took away from the primary focus of the story.

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

God this is such a clunky book I’m really struggling to finish it. Lots of great themes but not well-written at all. It’s just so boring to read!

[Finlay Munden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel this would have made a much better short story than a novel. The latter quarter of the book was really good.

[Lisa Spicer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book certainly deserves its place in the sun. Breaststrokes by Margaux Vialleron is breathtaking.

Intelligent, uncomfortable and demanding.

And at the same time it is beautiful, tender and raw.

Cloe, Gertrude and the Jenkins-Bell sisters, Mathilde and Sarah share a city and over the course of one weekend, they share more than that and they share it with us.

Four women who Vialleron breathes life into with such confidence and wisdom, her skills are in evidence and they are remarkable. She toys with structure and while it takes a little time to adjust to, the effort required pays dividends.

At its core, there lies the question of consent; not only the matter of sexual consent, but the wider issue. There is an emotional and personal response and there is philosophical discourse.

Each of our protagonists’ inner voice is distinct in its complexity and deeply affecting; as delicate layers are exposed we learn that they all carry secrets that have contributed to who they have become.

There is so much to consume here, Margaux Vialleron is meticulous in not only her creation of wholly believable women but each interaction is keenly observed and astutely described.

A book that deserves a buddy read, it deserves that close attention of conversation between readers, that joyous dissection of ideas and emotions realised.

She left me open mouthed and ready to go find The Yellow Kitchen and read it soon.

I loved this book. It is stunning.

[Mecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. I loved the structure of it, and although it is a bit long, and sometimes difficult to keep track of the four women's different narratives and the chronology of the plot, it is worthwhile. It offers a fresh take on the theme of consent and thoughtfully depicts how trauma takes on various manifestations in different people's lives. I will definitely be looking out for more by Margaux Vialleron in the future.