Swimming with Fishes

by Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm

Set in rural Jamaica, Swimming With Fishes evokes the pain of a love affair between a London-born businessman and a native Jamaican and how that affair grows beyond either of their expectations.

Sickle Cell Anaemia sufferer, Kat wants a baby more than life itself. When the town herbalist foretells of a man from across the ocean who will father her child, Kat’s hopes intensify into a dream that must come true.

Her encounter with Londoner Ben years later edges the prediction toward reality. Their friendship develops into an all-consuming love to which they both surrender. However unknown to Ben, Kat is a sickle cell sufferer and unknown to Kat, Ben is already married.

Genres: Fiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2017

Reviews

[Julie]

Swimming with the Fishes by Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm is a 2017 Jacaranda Books publication.

File this one under the ‘What was I thinking?’ category. I did read the blurb before I selected this book, but blurbs can often be deceiving, and I hoped there may be some plausible explanation for Ben’s actions.

But.. Nope- he’s an immature guy, who, while away from home on a business/pleasure trip, he embarks on a fateful affair, while back in London, he has a terrific wife and two beautiful daughters, who think the world of him.

Kat, the bohemian Jamaican girl he falls for, has sickle cell anemia. However, despite the dangers, she desperately wants a child. After it is predicted by a fortune teller that she will have a child by a man ‘from across the ocean’, the thought stays with her, until one day she meets Ben. She becomes certain he will be the father of her child, as it was foretold. However, it wasn’t until he had begun his seduction, that she becomes aware of his marriage.

Still, the affair continues-

While I often read dramatic novels in which adultery occasionally rears its ugly head, it is a topic that makes me very uncomfortable. Cheating, no matter what the circumstances, is a hard sell for me. But, in this case, it was presented in a manner that caused me to vehemently dislike Ben. Kat is just as guilty, of course, and should have immediately ended things no matter what. Her crisis of conscience comes entirely too late, after incredible, irrevocable damage as been done, and neither she, nor Ben, really seemed to feel any deep remorse for their actions.

So, without going into more detail- let’s just say this one didn’t impress me, and I ended up feeling quite annoyed by the entire situation.

I’m going to round the rating up a to two stars because it is partly my own fault since I read the blurb, and still chose to read it, despite the warning about cheating, and I stupidly hoped against hope for something good to come from a bad situation.

1.5 rounded up

[Monica **can't read fast enough**]

Swimming With Fishes is a quick read, set mainly in Jamaica, focusing on the love affair between a pair of ill fated lovers. Although I was able to read Swimming with Fishes quickly, I did have issues with the story. I did not particularly like either Kat or Ben as characters. They both came across as selfish which made me unsympathetic to their particular emotional pains. I somewhat understood Kat's desire for a child, but I did not like her actions. At twenty eight years old, Kat should be well aware of the consequences of her actions, and should have been able to make better judgments at several times throughout the story. Once Kat knows that she is not just Ben's lover, but his mistress, her decisions and behavior could have been less self serving. I understand being in love with someone and dreaming of a possible life with them, but I do not understand sacrificing your own self respect and disregarding the pain inflicted on other people.

Ben is no better with his weak integrity and self pity, which I find unattractive in a romantic lead. I don't accept general unhappiness and disquiet with the way his life has played out as an excuse to cheat on your wife and children. Ben actually thinks that because Kat is his first affair while a friend of his has had many lovers, that he isn't so bad. No, sir Ben. No, sir. I admit that I am biased against weak willed, self pitying cheaters who refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions; so the character of Ben didn't have a really good chance of gaining my sympathies.

Another issue that I had with Swimming with Fishes is that the dialogue felt stilted and the dialect of the local characters was written in a way that was a bit off putting. The way the secondary characters were written seemed to emphasize how well educated Kat is and that she is somehow smarter and more sophisticated than the majority of the people in her life. Ben, being British born and educated, is her ideal soul mate, and is in fact predicted for her by a local woman who can glimpse the future. The story is populated with stereotypical characters that you would expect to find in a close knit community. A nosy gossipy neighbor, a stern mother with strong religious beliefs, and a sassy straight shooting best friend who is willing to dish out tough love to Kat when needed.

Unfortunately, Swimming with Fishes was not a great read for me, but I think that I would pick up a second book by Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm to see if her writing moves in a different direction.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

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[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)]

Son won in Goodreads Giveaways - not read, passed onto another reader.

[Krystal]

With its gorgeous cover and a title like Swimming with Fishes, the story that followed makes sense. It was nice to read authentic Caribbean voices from these interesting characters.

[Whitney]

THIS BOOK IS SHUDDER INDUCING!

I will keep this review short because I have very little in the way of good things to say about it.

I am beyond disappointed that this book was as bad as it was. Honestly, who could read this cover to cover and still like it??
Not me. NOT ME.

Plus, the number of typos and grammatical errors was astounding!!!

Both of the main characters are incredibly weak, selfish, and wishy-washy. Such weakness makes for an uncomfortable read.
No self-respecting reader could truly like Kat and Ben, in my opinion.

I had such a difficult time sympathizing with either of them. Kat is superstitious to a fault, letting nothing get in her way of having a baby (her lifelong dream, apparently), and Ben sums up every cheating, backstabbing, and ignorant man to ever walk this earth.

Let me sum them up right now and save readers time.
Kat:
"Look at me, I'm educated yet selfish. I like babies, am obsessed with them, in fact. I want a baby for myself. Waa waa waa. I deserve a baby. Why does my mother hate me?? Why does the world challenge me? Who cares if I could die before, during, or after giving birth? I want to bring a child of my own into this world so that I can up and die and leave him/her without a mother to care for him/her. That would be so great! What a great mother that would make me! The weight of the world is on my shoulders. Waa waa waa!"

Ben:
"Look at me, I'm so rich. I have it all! Isn't it nice to be so rich? But hey, I'm so handsome and rugged and don't even realize I'm sooooo appealing to women that I don't brag about it or flaunt my uncontrollable sexiness to any woman (other than my wife) because I'm a GOOD man. Wow! I'm such a good man! So good, in fact, that I stalk a hot woman on the beach and seduce her and let her play right into my hands and get her into bed. I love my family, though! I LOVE my wife. I love my two innocent daughters. And now that I have two incredibly desirable, educated, and caring women in my life, I'll just yank them back and forth because I truly believe that I CAN have it all! I'm a man, after all, so I must deserve it!"

The only positive thing I have to say about this book is that I loved the fact that it took place in Jamaica. Such a dazzling place for the setting of a novel.
That being said, even Malcolm's descriptions of Jamaica fell flat for me. She could have put A LOT more effort into capturing the true essence of such a gorgeous country, yet she seemed to gloss over it, and by the end of the book, there was no descriptive imagery to look forward to--nothing to keep readers mesmerized and feel transported. It was kind of just like, "Meh. Jamaica. Whatever." Such a waste!

Do yourself a favor and skip this one altogether.

*If I've offended anyone with my review, then I apologize. That was not my intention. Reviews are just that: opinions. If you genuinely liked this book, then you are a far more forgiving reader than I.*

**Note: This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

[Jenny Hale]

At its core, Swimming with Fishes is about love and the havoc it can wreak on the lives of people as they are led by their hearts. Author Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm is a master of weaving the tangled lives we lead into words. Her characters were flawed as we all are, and she wrote their flaws so well that I wanted to shake them by the shoulders at times, baffled as to their choices as if they were my own friends or family. She swept me seamlessly and breathlessly through The Meadows in Jamaica and then over to England as the story unfolded, the plot thickening to a heart-pounding pace with every chapter I read until I was left holding my breath, scrambling through the final pages to see how it would end. And I absolutely enjoyed the ride.

[Bukola Akinyemi]

Swimming with Fishes
Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm

A love story set in Jamaica 🇯🇲 Is it a whirlwind holiday romance or a long term commitment?

Kat Lewis is beautiful, artistic and well loved by the community, she is also living with sickle cell anaemia, she doesn’t let her stop her from being adventurous and living her life to the fullest.

This is a lovely story, not romance as you know it but a love story through and through. Motherly love, community love, great friendships and romance.

The romantic relationship at the heart of this story is not the focus of my review, as a whole, I loved Kat’s coming of age story. Her love interest was another case. I will not focus on him.

The story was well written and fast paced, the characters and setting memorable.

[Reyiel Ananke]

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

It was a nice book, easy to read, simple story line, stereotypical characters and only one major plot.

I liked the part in Jamaica, it is a culture and a location I don't read a lot about usually, so it was interesting to read about these characters, they way of life and how they see life.

unfortunately the book turn around one of my major turn off, so I lost any interest in it from there.

I did finish it because the style was comfortable and easy to read, and I kind of like the main character, but I cannot give it more stars for that.

All in all, it is a nice easy book, god for a week end under the sun in the garden.

[Gail]

An easy read but not one that set the world on fire for me. The characters were quite immature and irresponsible given their age. Ben really didn't think that having sex with Kat might get her pregnant? He was already married with two children so knew exactly what might happen. Very naive of him. In th meantime, Kat believed Mrs Cynthy's prediction that she would have a child by a man from overseas so took that to mean Ben and set about to get herself pregnant after a couple of meetings with him. Both characters are quite selfish. Neither think of the consequence of their actions. All in all, I did not feel the storyline worked for me as it was all too far fetched to be believable.

[Joyce]

2 stars

This is a nicely written novel with somewhat likeable characters. But Kat and her London-born friend Ben are a little rough around the edges. Perhaps that what chronic illness did to them.

This is a romantic novel with an interesting twist. The couple each has their own secrets.

This is a romance novel at heart and I really don’t choose to read them. That’s my bad. I didn’t read the review carefully enough when I ordered it.

I want to thank Netgalley and Jacaranda Books for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

[Kimberlee]

A cute summer read featuring Ben and Kat. At times they both seemed a little selfish but also emotionally immature. This is the first book I've read by this author and it was good. I liked the setting in Jamaica and that each character had some growing to do. The obstacles they faced were rough but I guess that was what made them the characters that they were. The dialogue was a little stiff but besides that the book was good.

[Flora]

A promising start but quite predictable as you read along. Married boy meets local girl whilst on holiday, fall in love, long distance romance, wife finds out, boy has to make choices. A holiday read, the kind of book which you can read, maybe finish or not and leave behind in the hotel lobby for someone to read and that someone will also leave behind.

[LiteraryMarie]

Y'all know what happens when someone in the family dreams of fish, right? Well here is a literary version of events. Set in rural Jamaica, Swimming with Fishes is about the love affair between a London businessman and a native Jamaican. What started as a business trip turned into much more.

Kat wants a baby more than anything in life. She's always been told it is extremely risky because she was born with sickle cell anaemia. She wasn't even expected to survive her first birthday. Yet when the local herbalist/mythological lady foretells a man from across the ocean who will father her child...the dream becomes a possible reality only years later. Fairy tale, right? Not so much. Unknown to Ben, Kat is a sickle cell sufferer; unknown to Kat, Ben is already married with children.

Talk about a doozy! Like so many other books, I found myself rooting for the "wrong" woman until I took my emotions out of it and enjoyed the story for what it was...island love fiction. Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm wrote with the right amount of description so I could picture the characters in my mind without losing interest or reading long paragraphs. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the end and wonder if there was an alternate ending the author had in mind. Hmmm...nevertheless, it was a good read, especially in public with the beautiful cover and tagline: Love and secrets under the Jamaican sun.

LiteraryMarie

[Miss MA Cole]

Beautiful

Love is all about comprises.
And boy "Swimming with Fishes" definitely explores this.
Beautiful, romantic, and picturesque book. With an alternative happy ending. Although feel there should be a book 2 so much more of a story to tell

[Daniel Smith]

Won in the Goodreads Giveaway - passed to on.