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The Night Swimmer
William "Bill" Eckersley is unemployed, unmotivated, and unravelling.
Trapped in a working-class seaside town, he spends his nights swimming alone and his days avoiding the novel he’s been trying to write for years. Somewhere between writer’s block and breakdown, Bill finds himself slipping into something stranger.
Set on the margins of British life, The Night Swimmer is a darkly comic, emotionally charged novel about male mental health, addiction, isolation, and the quiet delusions we create to survive. As Bill drifts further into his own imagination, the line between living a story and writing one begins to blur.
Praise for The Night Swimmer
“The epitome of a character‑led book… dark, poignant, thought‑provoking.”
— What Cathy Read Next (May 2025)
"The prose is descriptive and immersive… I found myself completely engaged and read it in one sitting." — Underrated Reads (Aug 2025)
For readers drawn to Jon McGregor’s lyricism, Rachel Cusk’s interiority, and the unsettling tone of early Ian McEwan.
Trapped in a working-class seaside town, he spends his nights swimming alone and his days avoiding the novel he’s been trying to write for years. Somewhere between writer’s block and breakdown, Bill finds himself slipping into something stranger.
Set on the margins of British life, The Night Swimmer is a darkly comic, emotionally charged novel about male mental health, addiction, isolation, and the quiet delusions we create to survive. As Bill drifts further into his own imagination, the line between living a story and writing one begins to blur.
Praise for The Night Swimmer
“The epitome of a character‑led book… dark, poignant, thought‑provoking.”
— What Cathy Read Next (May 2025)
"The prose is descriptive and immersive… I found myself completely engaged and read it in one sitting." — Underrated Reads (Aug 2025)
For readers drawn to Jon McGregor’s lyricism, Rachel Cusk’s interiority, and the unsettling tone of early Ian McEwan.
195 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2025
About the author
Simon J. Houlton
1 book1 followerI am a Hastings-raised writer, painter, and poet, now living in Turkey. My debut novel, The Night Swimmer, is set in the seaside town of Hastings and explores working-class life, mental health, addiction, creativity, and isolation. Rooted in British literary fiction and psychological realism, my work often focuses on outsider narratives through the prism of everyday life.
I am currently working on my second novel and a poetry chapbook. My poems explore estrangement, loneliness, masculinity, and the absurdities of modern life, while my paintings respond to similar themes of mental health and social alienation.
Shaped by my background in Hastings and small-town England, my writing reflects the pressures of class, the pull of the sea, and the difficulties of finding meaning in uncertain times.
You can find The Night Swimmer on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1836542836
I am currently working on my second novel and a poetry chapbook. My poems explore estrangement, loneliness, masculinity, and the absurdities of modern life, while my paintings respond to similar themes of mental health and social alienation.
Shaped by my background in Hastings and small-town England, my writing reflects the pressures of class, the pull of the sea, and the difficulties of finding meaning in uncertain times.
You can find The Night Swimmer on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1836542836
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 23, 2025
Bill’s story is an emotional rollercoaster with slow ascents as he seems to come close to achieving the future he imagines for himself only to be followed by dizzying drops when disappointment and disillusionment see him seek out the only thing that numbs the pain: alcohol. His other place of sanctuary is the sea. His night-time swims from the beach at Mugborough (standing in for Hastings in East Sussex) give him a sense of peace whilst at the same time providing the possibility of just letting the current take him where it will; to drift, just as he is in life.
Although the story is mostly Bill’s, there are occasional sections from the point of view of other characters. There’s Eileen, Bill’s lascivious landlady, and Preston, the barman of Bill’s favourite pub, who has a world weary but often astute view of the clientele.
Another is Linda, Bill’s nemesis at the local Job Centre, who takes a sadistic pleasure in pressing Bill to accept one soulless job after another with the threat of sanctions if he doesn’t. (I’m sure there are well-intentioned Job Centre employees out there in real life.) Bill’s experiences illustrate how an individual can be ground down by an uncaring system that cannot or will not recognise a person’s potential or their frailties.
It’s impossible not to feel sorry for Bill when he encounters situations where his anxiety becomes so overwhelming he can barely function and his only solution is to run away, usually to the pub. The fact someone so vulnerable should feel so alone and seem destined to be a perpetual outsider is heartbreaking.
At times, Bill seems to have a fragile hold on reality, and there were points in the book where I shared that feeling of not knowing quite what is real and what is in Bill’s imagination. The author actually uses this to great advantage as the story unfolds.
Personally I found the occasional shifts from past to present tense, and the presence of long sentences with commas where I would have expected full stops did impact the flow of the writing. However, the strength of the story outweighed these stylistic choices.
The Night Swimmer takes you to dark places and includes scenes that are difficult to read. But there is humour to provide occasional respite from the darkness. One of my favourites was the thankless and ultimately futile task Bill is given at the local refuse tip.
The epitome of a character-led book, The Night Swimmer is a hard-hitting story about loneliness and the struggle to overcome your demons.
Although the story is mostly Bill’s, there are occasional sections from the point of view of other characters. There’s Eileen, Bill’s lascivious landlady, and Preston, the barman of Bill’s favourite pub, who has a world weary but often astute view of the clientele.
Another is Linda, Bill’s nemesis at the local Job Centre, who takes a sadistic pleasure in pressing Bill to accept one soulless job after another with the threat of sanctions if he doesn’t. (I’m sure there are well-intentioned Job Centre employees out there in real life.) Bill’s experiences illustrate how an individual can be ground down by an uncaring system that cannot or will not recognise a person’s potential or their frailties.
It’s impossible not to feel sorry for Bill when he encounters situations where his anxiety becomes so overwhelming he can barely function and his only solution is to run away, usually to the pub. The fact someone so vulnerable should feel so alone and seem destined to be a perpetual outsider is heartbreaking.
At times, Bill seems to have a fragile hold on reality, and there were points in the book where I shared that feeling of not knowing quite what is real and what is in Bill’s imagination. The author actually uses this to great advantage as the story unfolds.
Personally I found the occasional shifts from past to present tense, and the presence of long sentences with commas where I would have expected full stops did impact the flow of the writing. However, the strength of the story outweighed these stylistic choices.
The Night Swimmer takes you to dark places and includes scenes that are difficult to read. But there is humour to provide occasional respite from the darkness. One of my favourites was the thankless and ultimately futile task Bill is given at the local refuse tip.
The epitome of a character-led book, The Night Swimmer is a hard-hitting story about loneliness and the struggle to overcome your demons.
March 27, 2025
I really wanted to like this book and the start had me pretty interested, but I found it to have a stark comparison to Der Steppenwolf while kind of missing the magic I found in that book. It was an alright read but I can't really give it a glowing review, the ending in particular I found to be a bit cliché.
February 4, 2026
Raw and unsettling emotions, excellent descriptions. All in all a great read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews