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The Swimmer
Forty-three year old Ria is used to being alone. As a child, her life changed forever with the death of her beloved father and since then, she has struggled to find love. That is, until she discovers the swimmer.
Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. He is twenty years her junior and theirs is an unconventional but deeply moving romance, defying both boundaries and cultures – and the xenophobic residents of Orford. That is, until tragedy occurs.
Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. He is twenty years her junior and theirs is an unconventional but deeply moving romance, defying both boundaries and cultures – and the xenophobic residents of Orford. That is, until tragedy occurs.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
About the author
Roma Tearne
13 books94 followersRoma Tearne is a Sri Lankan born artist living and working in Britain. She arrived, with her parents in this country at the age of ten. She trained as a painter, completing her MA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford. For nearly twenty years her work as a painter, installation artist, and filmmaker has dealt with the traces of history and memory within public and private spaces.
In 1998 the Royal Academy of Arts, London, highlighted one of her paintings, “Watching the Procession,” for its Summer Exhibition. As a result her work became more widely known and was included in the South Asian Arts Festival at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham in 1992
In 1993, Cadogan Contempories, London, began showing her paintings. In 2000, the Arts Council of England funded a touring exhibition of her work. Entitled ‘The House of Small Things’, this exhibition consisted of paintings and photographs based on childhood memories. They were the start of what was to become a preoccupation on issues of loss and migration.
She became Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2002 and it was while working at the Ashmolean, as a response to public interest, that she began to write.
In 2003 she had a solo exhibition, Nel Corpo delle città (In the Body of the City), at the MLAC Gallery in Rome.
In 2006 she was awarded a three-year AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Fellowship, at Brookes University, Oxford where she worked on the relationship between narrative and memory in museums throughout Europe.
Out of this work came Watermuseum a film set in Venice which was shown at the Coastings exhibition in Nottingham in 2008. In 2008 she received funding from the Arts council of England in order to make a film on memory and migration. This film is due to be premiered in 2010.
Her second novel Bone China was published in April 2008 and her third Brixton Beach will be published in June 2009.
She will be having her first solo exhibition since 2001 at the 198 Gallery, Brixton at the same time.
Roma Tearne is currently a Creative Writing Fellow at Brookes University, Oxford.
In 1998 the Royal Academy of Arts, London, highlighted one of her paintings, “Watching the Procession,” for its Summer Exhibition. As a result her work became more widely known and was included in the South Asian Arts Festival at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham in 1992
In 1993, Cadogan Contempories, London, began showing her paintings. In 2000, the Arts Council of England funded a touring exhibition of her work. Entitled ‘The House of Small Things’, this exhibition consisted of paintings and photographs based on childhood memories. They were the start of what was to become a preoccupation on issues of loss and migration.
She became Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2002 and it was while working at the Ashmolean, as a response to public interest, that she began to write.
In 2003 she had a solo exhibition, Nel Corpo delle città (In the Body of the City), at the MLAC Gallery in Rome.
In 2006 she was awarded a three-year AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Fellowship, at Brookes University, Oxford where she worked on the relationship between narrative and memory in museums throughout Europe.
Out of this work came Watermuseum a film set in Venice which was shown at the Coastings exhibition in Nottingham in 2008. In 2008 she received funding from the Arts council of England in order to make a film on memory and migration. This film is due to be premiered in 2010.
Her second novel Bone China was published in April 2008 and her third Brixton Beach will be published in June 2009.
She will be having her first solo exhibition since 2001 at the 198 Gallery, Brixton at the same time.
Roma Tearne is currently a Creative Writing Fellow at Brookes University, Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
November 9, 2018
One of the things I like to do when I'm on holiday is to read books 'in situ' - either books set in the country I'm visiting or by authors from that country. And since I'm in Sri Lanka, I know I can guarantee a fantastic read by picking anything written by Sri Lankan born writer, Roma Tearne. Every one of her books has added to my knowledge of the history of this troubled country in a way that the raft of superficial 'Brits in Ceylon growing tea and finding sapphires' sub-genre never can.
'The Swimmer' tells the stories of three women - a girlfriend, a mother and.........well, I'm not going to tell you about the last of the three. They are connected by a man, 25 year old Sri Lankan Tamil Christian Ben who had to flee his country when he could no longer practice as a doctor and when his life was at risk. 43 year-old Ria finds Ben swimming in the river outside her home and invites him to share her life and her home. Anula is Ben's mother, not entirely sure how she feels about his relationship with Ria and very much a stranger in the wilds of Suffolk.
I lived in Suffolk for six years and love the coast though I don't know the area around Orford Ness but didn't feel I needed to because Roma Tearne describes is so well. I'd never given any thought to eels and eel catching, but I loved learning more. And most of all I loved these beautiful thoughtful characters.
The conflict in Sri Lanka is woven through the book but not in any great detail. It sits in the background like a threatening cloud hanging over everybody. Racism in the UK is equally a threatening force - but possibly one with greater urgency and violence.
I can't say much about this book without giving spoilers so I can only concentrate on how it made me FEEL rather than what happened. I found myself caring so much more deeply for all the characters - Ria, Anula, Eric and Lydia. I was absolutely choked in places and incensed at some of the minor characters (Ria's brother Jack needs a good hard slap).
Tearne's written landscapes are breathtaking. The desolate shorelines, the muddy river, even the fields of the nearby farms all resonate with realism and poetry.
I'm torn. Four or five stars? What's it to be? Can I have a 4.5?
'The Swimmer' tells the stories of three women - a girlfriend, a mother and.........well, I'm not going to tell you about the last of the three. They are connected by a man, 25 year old Sri Lankan Tamil Christian Ben who had to flee his country when he could no longer practice as a doctor and when his life was at risk. 43 year-old Ria finds Ben swimming in the river outside her home and invites him to share her life and her home. Anula is Ben's mother, not entirely sure how she feels about his relationship with Ria and very much a stranger in the wilds of Suffolk.
I lived in Suffolk for six years and love the coast though I don't know the area around Orford Ness but didn't feel I needed to because Roma Tearne describes is so well. I'd never given any thought to eels and eel catching, but I loved learning more. And most of all I loved these beautiful thoughtful characters.
The conflict in Sri Lanka is woven through the book but not in any great detail. It sits in the background like a threatening cloud hanging over everybody. Racism in the UK is equally a threatening force - but possibly one with greater urgency and violence.
I can't say much about this book without giving spoilers so I can only concentrate on how it made me FEEL rather than what happened. I found myself caring so much more deeply for all the characters - Ria, Anula, Eric and Lydia. I was absolutely choked in places and incensed at some of the minor characters (Ria's brother Jack needs a good hard slap).
Tearne's written landscapes are breathtaking. The desolate shorelines, the muddy river, even the fields of the nearby farms all resonate with realism and poetry.
I'm torn. Four or five stars? What's it to be? Can I have a 4.5?
July 7, 2011
Ria is a poet who lives alone in the small East Anglian town of Ipswich, surrounded by small minded and nosy neighbors who are isolated from their fellow Britons, and fearful of the immigrants that are slowly infiltrating the country and their region. Her only close living relative is her brother Jack, a bully interested in right-wing politics who frequently harasses and troubles her, along with his less than lovable wife and children, and she is not particularly friendly with anyone in town, whose citizens view her with suspicion as an outsider who has returned from London to live amongst them.
Ria's uneasy peace is disrupted one night as she spots a man emerging from a swim in the river adjacent to her home. She eventually meets him, and learns that he is a young doctor from Sri Lanka who has fled his troubled country for the safety of England, and works on a nearby farm while he waits for his application for political asylum to be processed. At the same time, there are a series of crimes being committed by a person of color in the region, along with increased suspicions from the townspeople that a group of foreign terrorists are hiding nearby, which leads to greater scrutiny of Ria and her home as she and the young man become ever closer.
The Swimmer describes a maudlin love story, which is followed by an improbable and, for this reader, very distasteful second love story, along with the increased xenophobia of the citizens of a small town and a country fearful of immigrants of color and terrorism. I found this novel to be superficial and its characters to be quite trivial, especially in comparison to Tearne's superb previous novel Brixton Beach.
Ria's uneasy peace is disrupted one night as she spots a man emerging from a swim in the river adjacent to her home. She eventually meets him, and learns that he is a young doctor from Sri Lanka who has fled his troubled country for the safety of England, and works on a nearby farm while he waits for his application for political asylum to be processed. At the same time, there are a series of crimes being committed by a person of color in the region, along with increased suspicions from the townspeople that a group of foreign terrorists are hiding nearby, which leads to greater scrutiny of Ria and her home as she and the young man become ever closer.
The Swimmer describes a maudlin love story, which is followed by an improbable and, for this reader, very distasteful second love story, along with the increased xenophobia of the citizens of a small town and a country fearful of immigrants of color and terrorism. I found this novel to be superficial and its characters to be quite trivial, especially in comparison to Tearne's superb previous novel Brixton Beach.
January 28, 2013
Roma Tearne explores a range of very personal subjects, along with major macro theme around being a woman, ageing and being 'English'. Along with an arresting consideration of immigration I found this refreshingly thought-provoking for what would ordinarily be termed an 'easy read' novel. I enjoyed the way the themes were woven together, and along with Roma Tearne's ability to provide poetry-like passages of writing, I would recommend this for people interested in diaspora tales.
October 17, 2019
The long road to joy
Part of me thought this book was too long, but I was drawn along with it with emotions mounting inside me through the ups and downs of love, loss and the consequences of both to the sad-happy end where I am not ashamed to say joyous tears were in my eyes
Part of me thought this book was too long, but I was drawn along with it with emotions mounting inside me through the ups and downs of love, loss and the consequences of both to the sad-happy end where I am not ashamed to say joyous tears were in my eyes
April 20, 2024
Unexpectedly beautiful.
December 26, 2024
Een heel mooi, ontroerend verhaal dat op het einde echt wel emotie losmaakte bij mij.
March 8, 2017
The swimmer of the title is Ben, a young Tamil doctor from Sri Lanka. When we meet him he has travelled from his war-torn country to the UK as a refugee and illegal immigrant (he has applied for refugee status, but is awaiting a decision) and is working as a casual farm labourer in return for a place to stay and some meals. We find out a little more about him, that he likes to swim and play the piano, and that he misses his home and his mother. We do not hear from him directly, but hear his story through two women who loved him and one who never met him.
Ria sees Ben swimming in the river at the bottom of her garden, hears him play her piano very softly when he sneaks into her house and then invites him into her life and her bed. Ria has only known him a couple of weeks, but Anula is his mother and has known him all his life, although she had not seen him after he left home and did not know much about his life in the UK.
There is an underlying theme about sudden death, funerals and bodies. Ria's father died when she was thirteen as a result of complications following a routine operation and she was only told after the funeral. Anula's husband and Ben's father, Percy, disappeared when Ben was thirteen and bloody clothes were left at the family's door; no body was ever found. Eric, a neighbour who acts throughout as a constant support to Ria, Ben, Anula and Lydia whenever they need it, had a son who was taken hostage and killed in Afghanistan, again with no body being found. Lydia, at thirteen years of age, is taken to identify her mother's body after she dies in a car accident.
The three women's stories are told in the first person, so we know what they think and feel. They are not equally balanced: Ria's is told first, followed by Anula's much more powerful story, with Lydia's forming a short coda. The connections between the three seem forced and Ria's story is made too prominent in comparison to Anula's and Lydia's, or Eric's and Ben's, so the book is unbalanced.
There is a suggestion that love or sex can assuage grief, given enough time. Ria's love affair with Ben lifts her out of the isolation she had felt since her father's death. Eric's love affair with Anula helps him and eventually, after many years, it perhaps helps her too. We never find out what Ben feels about Ria, he tells his mother he wants to return home but Ria makes him feel less lost and unwelcome in the country than he might have been. Anula and Lydia, the result of Ria and Ben's affair, meet at the end and this is given significance. I am not convinced that this is a symbol of hope for the future or life continuing, we are more than the DNA of our parents, but it saves the book being as bleak as it had been.
I would have liked to know more about Eric. He comes across as more of a personification of the Suffolk landscape than a person in his own right. I would have liked to know more about Ben. I am less sure I wanted to know Jack better, but there are hints that there is more of a story to be told there as well. Perhaps the author shies away from describing men's feelings and so only concentrates of the women. It is another imbalance in the book.
Ria sees Ben swimming in the river at the bottom of her garden, hears him play her piano very softly when he sneaks into her house and then invites him into her life and her bed. Ria has only known him a couple of weeks, but Anula is his mother and has known him all his life, although she had not seen him after he left home and did not know much about his life in the UK.
There is an underlying theme about sudden death, funerals and bodies. Ria's father died when she was thirteen as a result of complications following a routine operation and she was only told after the funeral. Anula's husband and Ben's father, Percy, disappeared when Ben was thirteen and bloody clothes were left at the family's door; no body was ever found. Eric, a neighbour who acts throughout as a constant support to Ria, Ben, Anula and Lydia whenever they need it, had a son who was taken hostage and killed in Afghanistan, again with no body being found. Lydia, at thirteen years of age, is taken to identify her mother's body after she dies in a car accident.
The three women's stories are told in the first person, so we know what they think and feel. They are not equally balanced: Ria's is told first, followed by Anula's much more powerful story, with Lydia's forming a short coda. The connections between the three seem forced and Ria's story is made too prominent in comparison to Anula's and Lydia's, or Eric's and Ben's, so the book is unbalanced.
There is a suggestion that love or sex can assuage grief, given enough time. Ria's love affair with Ben lifts her out of the isolation she had felt since her father's death. Eric's love affair with Anula helps him and eventually, after many years, it perhaps helps her too. We never find out what Ben feels about Ria, he tells his mother he wants to return home but Ria makes him feel less lost and unwelcome in the country than he might have been. Anula and Lydia, the result of Ria and Ben's affair, meet at the end and this is given significance. I am not convinced that this is a symbol of hope for the future or life continuing, we are more than the DNA of our parents, but it saves the book being as bleak as it had been.
I would have liked to know more about Eric. He comes across as more of a personification of the Suffolk landscape than a person in his own right. I would have liked to know more about Ben. I am less sure I wanted to know Jack better, but there are hints that there is more of a story to be told there as well. Perhaps the author shies away from describing men's feelings and so only concentrates of the women. It is another imbalance in the book.
July 23, 2011
Review for the Audible version.
I have read two of Roma Tearne's previous novels so I was not expecting this to be a particularly joyful read. Never-the-less, the tragedy referred to in the book's blurb occurs so early on in the narrative that it left me reeling, wondering how it could redeem itself. I did manage a few tears of joy at the end but the majority of the book is truly sad. Having said that, I enjoyed it, but then I am a bit of a morbid reader.
The main character is 43 year old Ria who is a bit of a loner following the loss of her much loved father while she was still young. She has inherited his cottage on the Fens of Norfolk, where she is living alone, working as a poet, when she starts to be aware of a presence around her house. She is understandably nervous, given the recent killing of animals and suspicion of illegal immigrants in her area.
Ben is a young refugee from Sri Lanka, having escaped the purging of the Tamils by travelling in a lorry via Moscow. He is a qualified doctor in his home country but has had to work in Britain as a farm worker to survive.
Ria and Ben form an unlikely alliance, given their different backgrounds and huge difference in age - then the tragedy strikes.
There are a number of other vivid characters who are also introduced - Rias's bully of a brother and his family, Ben's mother, but most of all, Eric, an elderly farming man from the Fens who catches eels from the river at the end of Ria's garden and who has known her since she was a child. It is Eric who holds the whole story together, though at times he is a bit too good to be true.
Tearne is an excellent author on the themes of expatriation and the struggles of the Tamils in Sri Lanka but there is so much tragedy and death in the story, both past and present, that you'd have to be in a strong frame of mind to read this. It is, however, slightly lifted by the vivid descriptions of the harsh Norfolk countryside.
The audible version was well read by Patience Tomlinson. My only complaint would have been that she read the thoughts of Ben's Mother, Anula, with an English accent and then used a slight accent for her spoken word. I would have preferred all of this to have been accented, preferably by a native speaker.
I have read two of Roma Tearne's previous novels so I was not expecting this to be a particularly joyful read. Never-the-less, the tragedy referred to in the book's blurb occurs so early on in the narrative that it left me reeling, wondering how it could redeem itself. I did manage a few tears of joy at the end but the majority of the book is truly sad. Having said that, I enjoyed it, but then I am a bit of a morbid reader.
The main character is 43 year old Ria who is a bit of a loner following the loss of her much loved father while she was still young. She has inherited his cottage on the Fens of Norfolk, where she is living alone, working as a poet, when she starts to be aware of a presence around her house. She is understandably nervous, given the recent killing of animals and suspicion of illegal immigrants in her area.
Ben is a young refugee from Sri Lanka, having escaped the purging of the Tamils by travelling in a lorry via Moscow. He is a qualified doctor in his home country but has had to work in Britain as a farm worker to survive.
Ria and Ben form an unlikely alliance, given their different backgrounds and huge difference in age - then the tragedy strikes.
There are a number of other vivid characters who are also introduced - Rias's bully of a brother and his family, Ben's mother, but most of all, Eric, an elderly farming man from the Fens who catches eels from the river at the end of Ria's garden and who has known her since she was a child. It is Eric who holds the whole story together, though at times he is a bit too good to be true.
Tearne is an excellent author on the themes of expatriation and the struggles of the Tamils in Sri Lanka but there is so much tragedy and death in the story, both past and present, that you'd have to be in a strong frame of mind to read this. It is, however, slightly lifted by the vivid descriptions of the harsh Norfolk countryside.
The audible version was well read by Patience Tomlinson. My only complaint would have been that she read the thoughts of Ben's Mother, Anula, with an English accent and then used a slight accent for her spoken word. I would have preferred all of this to have been accented, preferably by a native speaker.
March 23, 2011
I read this book n a matter of days and felt as if i had been walking through the longs grasses of Suffolk, i could feel the breeze and smell the flowers.
I am from Norfolk myself and it was strangely pleasing and peculiar to know all of the areas they were mentioning.
I found the love story beautiful and unpredictable.
Also at the end of the book it had some old photos that the author had found which i found really interesting.
I am from Norfolk myself and it was strangely pleasing and peculiar to know all of the areas they were mentioning.
I found the love story beautiful and unpredictable.
Also at the end of the book it had some old photos that the author had found which i found really interesting.
May 26, 2022
This is really a four and a half book. Last section is good but not as great as other parts. Also, unless Eric always calls his dogs same name ( I know people that do), then Flossie is about 22.
Anyway. That’s what lost the half a star. Otherwise it’s a great book. Section two made me weep. So like grief it wasn’t painful but close. I almost sobbed....almost.
The descriptions are just right. People well described. A page turner.
May read another of hers. Oh no another one on the list.
Anyway. That’s what lost the half a star. Otherwise it’s a great book. Section two made me weep. So like grief it wasn’t painful but close. I almost sobbed....almost.
The descriptions are just right. People well described. A page turner.
May read another of hers. Oh no another one on the list.
October 5, 2012
I loved this. I struggled at first, thought it was another soppy romance but by the end of the first part (out of 3) I was captivated. This book moved me and I felt quite sad at times! Fantastic read, strongly recommended. Thank god for book clubs.
April 11, 2020
I liked this book. Actually let's be more precise. I like Roma Tearne's writing. I have read her books Brixton Beach and Bone China so I am familiar with her style, with her preferences, the themes she likes to explore and in how much detail. So, for the comfort of her writing style and poetic, lyrical expression I give her 5 stars.
The only problem I had with this novel was the 'outdatedness' of it. It just felt like a lot of stereotypes were being played out in the hope that the reader would have this pre-instilled empathy with a situation allowing energies to then be spent on the beautiful wording and expression. No, it doesn't work like this any more... (I shake my head in disagreement)
Times have changed; there is no black and white, no obvious right or wrong, there's much more psychology involved with things, people want more explanation, people can spot excuses from a far, people want justification.. Why, why why?
There are no explanations, no justifications. There are just excuses... So Ria is 43yrs old, an unmarried, spinster, vulnerable, unloved, a tad neurotic...So many stereotypes were played out. In 2020, its hard to imagine a 43yr old living like this unless there are particular disabilities and mental challenges at play which were not in Ria's case (at least nothing of the sort was described). Ben was a Tamilian, young man stirring all kinds of feelings inside the 18yr senior, Ria. It moved way too quickly, considering the writing was daily diary style as far as showing the day of the week and dates ie Monday 5th September.
The unravelling of her guard was not indulged in. Why not?? This could have made for a massively meaty part of the story?? Do not leave it to the reader's imagination. Tell the reader what was going through this lonely 43yr old English woman's mind fantasising about an South indian 25yr illegal immigrant man, a doctor that plays jazz on the piano (cue eye roll*).
Tearne wants to write about grief. She wants you to feel empathy, acknowledge a lonely, ageing woman's vulnerability, feel compassion for immigrants/refugees (except "Pakistani Muslims; Terrorists" which were described a couple of times as the true enemy, the ones everyone else were being mistaken for.... Ahan of course)
Family saga
Isolation
Society without compassion
Immigration/Refugee themes
Mistaken identity
Star struck love
OK, I can accept these themes as interesting and relevant. I just have a problem with the following....
Stereotyping characters, circumstances etc.
Trite
Self victimisation
Stereotyping (again)
Standing up for a minority group but back handedly prejudicing another (oh dear)
A poor ending without closure.
Oh and
Stereotyping.
Its a 2* for this installment.
The only problem I had with this novel was the 'outdatedness' of it. It just felt like a lot of stereotypes were being played out in the hope that the reader would have this pre-instilled empathy with a situation allowing energies to then be spent on the beautiful wording and expression. No, it doesn't work like this any more... (I shake my head in disagreement)
Times have changed; there is no black and white, no obvious right or wrong, there's much more psychology involved with things, people want more explanation, people can spot excuses from a far, people want justification.. Why, why why?
There are no explanations, no justifications. There are just excuses... So Ria is 43yrs old, an unmarried, spinster, vulnerable, unloved, a tad neurotic...So many stereotypes were played out. In 2020, its hard to imagine a 43yr old living like this unless there are particular disabilities and mental challenges at play which were not in Ria's case (at least nothing of the sort was described). Ben was a Tamilian, young man stirring all kinds of feelings inside the 18yr senior, Ria. It moved way too quickly, considering the writing was daily diary style as far as showing the day of the week and dates ie Monday 5th September.
The unravelling of her guard was not indulged in. Why not?? This could have made for a massively meaty part of the story?? Do not leave it to the reader's imagination. Tell the reader what was going through this lonely 43yr old English woman's mind fantasising about an South indian 25yr illegal immigrant man, a doctor that plays jazz on the piano (cue eye roll*).
Tearne wants to write about grief. She wants you to feel empathy, acknowledge a lonely, ageing woman's vulnerability, feel compassion for immigrants/refugees (except "Pakistani Muslims; Terrorists" which were described a couple of times as the true enemy, the ones everyone else were being mistaken for.... Ahan of course)
Family saga
Isolation
Society without compassion
Immigration/Refugee themes
Mistaken identity
Star struck love
OK, I can accept these themes as interesting and relevant. I just have a problem with the following....
Stereotyping characters, circumstances etc.
Trite
Self victimisation
Stereotyping (again)
Standing up for a minority group but back handedly prejudicing another (oh dear)
A poor ending without closure.
Oh and
Stereotyping.
Its a 2* for this installment.
August 8, 2025
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narration was alright but some of the accents were a bit questionable. I’d never heard of this author before and it isn’t the sort of book I would normally read.
The opening of the book was intriguing and I wanted to find out what was happening in a seemingly sleepy village. As the story progressed I found Ria difficult to connect with and I didn’t understand why she wasn’t concerned about a strange man in her house, helping himself to food. Parts of the story didn’t ring true for me and it made it seem a bit implausible. There was potential to deal with sensitive topics such as racism, xenophobia, asylum seekers etc. but it felt like nothing was really explored in depth.
About halfway through the book I got fed up. Some of the descriptions of the scenery were nice but although an easy read, it was a bit of a slog to get through. The ending was abrupt and it felt like more could have been made of the grandmother and granddaughter relationship. The explanation for what was happening at the beginning of the story also seemed a bit rushed and shoehorned in, almost as if the author had forgotten about it.
Overall this book had potential but didn’t quite work for me, it seemed too implausible. 2.5 stars rounded to 2.
The opening of the book was intriguing and I wanted to find out what was happening in a seemingly sleepy village. As the story progressed I found Ria difficult to connect with and I didn’t understand why she wasn’t concerned about a strange man in her house, helping himself to food. Parts of the story didn’t ring true for me and it made it seem a bit implausible. There was potential to deal with sensitive topics such as racism, xenophobia, asylum seekers etc. but it felt like nothing was really explored in depth.
About halfway through the book I got fed up. Some of the descriptions of the scenery were nice but although an easy read, it was a bit of a slog to get through. The ending was abrupt and it felt like more could have been made of the grandmother and granddaughter relationship. The explanation for what was happening at the beginning of the story also seemed a bit rushed and shoehorned in, almost as if the author had forgotten about it.
Overall this book had potential but didn’t quite work for me, it seemed too implausible. 2.5 stars rounded to 2.
July 4, 2020
A lot of sadness in this book, but a happy ending does finish it off. Ria, a white lady living in Eel House, meets a Sri Lankan asylum seeker, much younger than herself, and a relationship is struck. Ben is mistakenly killed by police who thought he was a terrorist. Ria is heartbroken. Anula, Ben's mum, travels from Sri Lanka to see her dead son. She meets Eric, an old family friend and neighbour of Ria. Althugh she loves Eric, she returns to Sri Lanka to try to find peace. Ria finds herself pregnant with Ben's baby, and when the child is 12, Ria is killed in a car accident. Anula returns to Eric and to her grand daughter - who she instantly recognises as being her son's child.
A book that started slow, but twisted and turned enough to hold my interest and to stir the emotions. Interesting inclusion of racism/terrorism.
A book that started slow, but twisted and turned enough to hold my interest and to stir the emotions. Interesting inclusion of racism/terrorism.
July 8, 2019
The author uses three different characters' voices to narrate a powerful story of love and loss in England and Sri Lanka.
The first voice speaks of the magic found when love comes along unexpectedly and in a very unlikely relationship.
The second voice speaks of the comfort to be found in love following an especially painful event.
The third voice speaks of a love that is a complete surprise and very special.
All three voices endure a devastating loss that binds them together for eternity.
There are beautiful moments in the writing and there are sad moments too but overwhelmingly I found joy as I read this book. Additionally I found myself reflecting on a variety of love relationships, past and present, in my own life. A most enjoyable read!
The first voice speaks of the magic found when love comes along unexpectedly and in a very unlikely relationship.
The second voice speaks of the comfort to be found in love following an especially painful event.
The third voice speaks of a love that is a complete surprise and very special.
All three voices endure a devastating loss that binds them together for eternity.
There are beautiful moments in the writing and there are sad moments too but overwhelmingly I found joy as I read this book. Additionally I found myself reflecting on a variety of love relationships, past and present, in my own life. A most enjoyable read!
July 20, 2020
I found the plot of the book quite interesting at the start, and I was also curious about the side plot of the dogs being murdered. However once the narrative changed to Ben’s mother, I found the book lost it’s story a bit and became quite slow, lost and dragged on for quite a while. I did find the ending fairly satisfying but I still felt there could have been more development with Ria and her side of the family too. Despite this, I enjoyed reading a book set in Orford having visited many times before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2021
Having an interest in swimming, I wanted to read a novel that involved it. This is what I found, and without reading reviews, I dove straight in.
A love story with such deep loss. I’m not one to cry, this is an issue I’m looking into (a story for a different forum), yet this book took me to the edge of tears, and emotion was stirred within.
The setting of Suffolk was as much a major character, so beautifully described. It also enabled me to reminisce on a previous trip of mine to Sri Lanka - thanks Roma Tearne.
This was the book that took me through COVID, it was a fine companion.
A love story with such deep loss. I’m not one to cry, this is an issue I’m looking into (a story for a different forum), yet this book took me to the edge of tears, and emotion was stirred within.
The setting of Suffolk was as much a major character, so beautifully described. It also enabled me to reminisce on a previous trip of mine to Sri Lanka - thanks Roma Tearne.
This was the book that took me through COVID, it was a fine companion.
June 14, 2024
Worthy and interesting subject considered from several angles. Makes some good points. But tedious and dreary in the telling. Overly long winded and repetitive and likely would have benefited from a much stricter edit. Unsatisfying.
August 20, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very moving. A sad critique of man's inhumanity whilst also possessing warmth and love in unlikely places.
February 1, 2021
An utterly beautiful story of loss, grief and our reactions
July 5, 2021
Nice ending, and sense of place - but characters were a bit unreal for me.
February 16, 2022
I do love Roma Tearne's stories. The complex relationships are so compelling. I want to read more of her work.
July 20, 2022
Good book... But expected more from it.
January 12, 2026
A bit of a predicted story line.Characters were bit flat.
March 14, 2021
Good idea for book but sadly not well written enough for my liking
June 26, 2024
Tissues needed.
Beautifully written, heartbreaking. Odd people but the story stays with you
Beautifully written, heartbreaking. Odd people but the story stays with you
September 15, 2014
The Swimmer is a very gripping novel about loss, in the shape of a raging river of grief that overflows, and chokes all other emotions and rationality in its course. A less obvious theme is the problem of increasing xenophobia in the West, and in the United Kingdom in particular. Irrational fear of the unknown can lead to tragic outcomes, as is demonstrated in this novel.
The novel is divided in four parts. There is a prologue of sorts, introducing the reader to the town of Orford, to the farms in its vicinity that are terrorized by unknown culprits, slicing the throats of calves, dogs and sheep alike. A woman is even threatened at knife-point to hand over her passport and other valuables. Houses are burgled, their pets killed in the aforementioned manner and more passports disappear.
The first part is narrated by Ria, a 43 year-old poetess, who has been living a solitary life after her partner left because of her inability to conceive. She had a difficult childhood in which her father died unexpectedly and her mother found it impossible to cope with the loss. Because of this, she grew up to be a quiet and introverted woman. Against all expectations, she falls in love with the much younger Ben, her secret swimmer and Sri Lankan refugee. Their affair is a tender, healing one.
In the second part, it is Anula who carries on with the story. She has come to the United Kingdom under the worst circumstances a mother can imagine. Her words and thoughts are drenched in grief, guilt and anger. Without Eric, Ria's neighbor and close friend, she would not have survived her unbearable pain. For a short while at least, they are each other's beacon in a sea of parental grief.
The final part of the book features Lydia, yet another deeply hurt and angry woman, who relates her past to a psychiatrist. It is here that The Swimmer comes full circle.
Despite the fact that I liked this novel a lot, it was far from perfect. First of all, it simply contained too many coincidences for my taste. For some people, the events in the book may appear as woven by fate, but that is not my point of view. Unfortunately, I can't go into details, or else I would spoil too much of the storyline. Furthermore, I thought Lydia's part was disappointing; I would have preferred the narrative to be returned to Ria, to see how she lived out her life. Her actions in part two, seen through the eyes of Anula, made me believe she was weak and self-centered. Even though Eric defends her behavior, I cannot help but think a grown woman like her should know better. When it comes down to it, my main issue with The Swimmer is that none of its characters are fleshed out enough. Their emotions are so overwhelming, but because I hardly know the sufferers, I felt a little uncomfortable about it. It made me feel as if I was spying on strangers in their most private moments.
The novel is divided in four parts. There is a prologue of sorts, introducing the reader to the town of Orford, to the farms in its vicinity that are terrorized by unknown culprits, slicing the throats of calves, dogs and sheep alike. A woman is even threatened at knife-point to hand over her passport and other valuables. Houses are burgled, their pets killed in the aforementioned manner and more passports disappear.
The first part is narrated by Ria, a 43 year-old poetess, who has been living a solitary life after her partner left because of her inability to conceive. She had a difficult childhood in which her father died unexpectedly and her mother found it impossible to cope with the loss. Because of this, she grew up to be a quiet and introverted woman. Against all expectations, she falls in love with the much younger Ben, her secret swimmer and Sri Lankan refugee. Their affair is a tender, healing one.
In the second part, it is Anula who carries on with the story. She has come to the United Kingdom under the worst circumstances a mother can imagine. Her words and thoughts are drenched in grief, guilt and anger. Without Eric, Ria's neighbor and close friend, she would not have survived her unbearable pain. For a short while at least, they are each other's beacon in a sea of parental grief.
The final part of the book features Lydia, yet another deeply hurt and angry woman, who relates her past to a psychiatrist. It is here that The Swimmer comes full circle.
Despite the fact that I liked this novel a lot, it was far from perfect. First of all, it simply contained too many coincidences for my taste. For some people, the events in the book may appear as woven by fate, but that is not my point of view. Unfortunately, I can't go into details, or else I would spoil too much of the storyline. Furthermore, I thought Lydia's part was disappointing; I would have preferred the narrative to be returned to Ria, to see how she lived out her life. Her actions in part two, seen through the eyes of Anula, made me believe she was weak and self-centered. Even though Eric defends her behavior, I cannot help but think a grown woman like her should know better. When it comes down to it, my main issue with The Swimmer is that none of its characters are fleshed out enough. Their emotions are so overwhelming, but because I hardly know the sufferers, I felt a little uncomfortable about it. It made me feel as if I was spying on strangers in their most private moments.
February 19, 2017
Interesting book with an insight into Sri Lankas history re Tamil Tigers. I thought there would be more regarding the plight of refugees and illegal immigrants and the legal minefield but this plot line came to am abrupt end. The book started with the discovery of killed animals with the link to terrorist, but again, this plot strand was not pursued. Was there a link to Jack? Again, not tied up. We were left to make assumptions. However, I did like the story telling from the different perspectives and found the characters quite interesting. Not quite sure how Ria made a living as a poet - didn't realise that there was so much money in poetry! Inherited wealth? This always seems like a lazy answer for novelists who then don't have to deal with the realities of life.
On the whole, I enjoyed it.
On the whole, I enjoyed it.
January 28, 2014
This is my favorite book ever. I read English at university, I was a voracious reader before and after Uni, so there have been a lot of books that have passed through my hands.
I read it over two nights. I probably would have read it faster if I hadnt been sobbing uncontrollably, looking for kleenex, wiping tears, sighing, thinking, remembering......... Roma has 2 skills, she tells wonderful stories, and she tells them beautifully. Each sentence is carefully chosen, I dont know where in her mind it comes from, but its beautiful. Underline, mark, annotate, pause, share, copy .......
All of the books by Roma Ive read so far involve an epic love that is cut short by sudden death or some other worldly event that splits 2 people apart. Most certainly the short, intense relationship between Ria and Ben was a thing of great beauty, and the tragedy of Ben's death (and by association all the beautiful young men and women from Sri lanka whose precious lives were cut short because of the war) was really unbearable.
The grieving of Ria was hard, the first person account of Ben's mother and her grief was devastating but just so incredibly beautiful.
The gift that Ben left for Ria was special, and unexpected, and I would have so loved to have read about Ria's love for Lydia, but, I will have to just imagine that, as I think about the childhood of my own precious beautiful half brown daughter.
Her books, not just this one but Bone China and Mosquito, will be like bibles beside my bed. Marked, pages folded, highlighted, passages copied into my journal, and loved.
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