{"product_id":"swimming-in-the-dark-a-novel-isbn-9780062890016","title":"Swimming in the Dark: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR \u003c\/b\u003e•\u003cb\u003e A DUA LIPA BOOK CLUB PICK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Imagine \u003ci\u003eCall Me By Your Name\u003c\/i\u003e set in Communist Poland and you'll get a sense of Jedrowski's moving debut about a consuming love affair amidst a country being torn apart.” — \u003ci\u003eO, The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Captivating both for its shimmering surfaces and its terrifying depths. Tomasz Jedrowski is a remarkable writer.” — Justin Torres, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eWe the Animals\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSet in early 1980s Poland against the violent decline of Communism, a tender and passionate story of first love between two young men who eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide—a stunningly poetic and heartrending coming-of-age story and literary debut for fans of André Aciman, Garth Greenwell, and Alan Hollinghurst.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen university student Ludwik meets Janusz at a summer agricultural camp, he is fascinated yet wary of this handsome, carefree stranger. But a chance meeting by the river soon becomes an intense, exhilarating, and all-consuming affair. After their camp duties are fulfilled, the pair spend a dreamlike few weeks in the countryside, bonding over an illicit copy of James Baldwin’s \u003ci\u003eGiovanni’s Room\u003c\/i\u003e. Inhabiting a beautiful, natural world removed from society and its constraints, Ludwik and Janusz fall deeply in love. But in their repressive Communist and Catholic society, the passion they share is a dangerous secret, utterly unthinkable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce they return to Warsaw, the charismatic Janusz quickly rises in the political ranks of the party and is rewarded with a highly coveted government position. Ludwik is drawn toward impulsive acts of protest, unable to ignore rising food prices and the stark economic disparity around them. Their secret love and personal and political differences slowly begin to tear them apart as both men struggle to survive in a regime on the brink of collapse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShifting from the intoxication of first love to the quiet melancholy of growing up and growing apart, \u003ci\u003eSwimming in the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e is a potent blend of historical romance, postwar politics, intrigue, and history. Lyrical and sensual, immersive and intense, Tomasz Jedrowski’s indelible and thought-provoking literary debut explores freedom and love in all its incarnations.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSwimming in the Dark\u003c\/em\u003e is captivating both for its shimmering surfaces and its terrifying depths. I began reading, and soon realized I wouldn’t be doing anything else that day. I needed to see these boys, these lovers, through to the end. Tomasz Jedrowski is a remarkable writer, alive to the ramifications of history and politics, in which the violence of a corrupt state can never fully stamp out the flourishing of beauty, grace, and resistance.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJustin Torres, National Book Award-winning author of Blackouts and We the Animals\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Marvelous, precise, poignant writing; the reader is happy to be overwhelmed. The highest talent at work.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSebastian Barry, award-winning author of Days Without End\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Reading \u003cem\u003eSwimming in the Dark\u003c\/em\u003e is a bit like peering into someone’s most intimate moments of self-discovery. It’s poetic and tender, burning with a quiet rage at the persecution the LGBTQIA+ community in Poland has suffered for decades and continues to fight against today. It’s a beautiful story – I hope you love it as much as I do.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDua Lipa, on selecting Swimming in the Dark for her Service95 book club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A beautiful novel, and at its heart an amazing love story.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBBC Radio 4 Open Book, Editor's Pick\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This debut novel by Tomasz Jedrowski shows how easily love can be torn apart.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHarper’s Bazaar, #BazaarBookClub: the modern love stories to read now\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An enthralling love story.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonocle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A work of unadorned beauty . . . a breathtaking achievement.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGlam Adelaide (Australia)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Remember the feeling of the last day of summer camp? Nostalgia for something you haven’t quite lost yet? Tomasz Jedrowski captures that wistfulness in his debut novel . . . Jedrowski’s writing reminds us that even in the face of oppression, life continues.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAri Shapiro, NPR, Book Concierge\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In this glorious book, Jedrowski exquisitely captures the pleasure and pain of young love, while reminding us of what it means to hunger: for freedom – and for another.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Independent, 11 Best LGBTQ+ Books to Read During Pride Month and Beyond\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Politics and intimacy collide constantly in Tomasz Jedrowski’s enthralling debut.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTash Aw, Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A remarkable, beautiful tale . . . [that] is consonant with many of the traditions of gay fiction, yet is also utterly new and entirely credible . . . This book radiates sensuality, humour, and human truths . . . The reader is left wanting more. You won’t want to miss it.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review (UK)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This lovely debut . . . has the hallmarks of a restrained mini-classic: In simple, heartfelt prose, Jedrowski sketches a powerfully erotic first love transformed by politics into a romance roiled by risk and ethical ambiguity.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star-Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the most astonishing contemporary gay novels we have ever read. \u003cem\u003eSwimming in the Dark\u003c\/em\u003e is extraordinarily beautiful . . . Erotic, mesmeric, heart-rending and brutal, this is a masterpiece.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAttitude magazine (UK)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is a lyrical exploration of the conflict between gay love and political conformity. Jedrowski is an authentic new international star.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEdmund White, award-winning author of Our Young Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Jedrowski has woven a brilliant tale about two people in love who are torn apart by a political divide and a difference in values. . . . A tender, sad, and moving love story . . . full of suspenseful intrigue, conflict, and passion.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gay \u0026amp; Lesbian Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An affecting and unusual romance, with a political undercurrent . . . . Jedrowski writes elegantly and evokes the emotional honesty that the lovers first thrive in, and then the grimly repressive machinery of the [Polish United Workers' Party].” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] devastating debut novel . . . Worker revolts and brutal government crackdown form the backdrop to Ludwik’s search for love and possibility while living in fear of being discovered. Jedrowski’s prose captures the strain of such desires, alongside heady moments of freedom.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInterview Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889439600869,"sku":"NP9780062890016","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062890016.jpg?v=1730231257","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/swimming-in-the-dark-a-novel-isbn-9780062890016","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}