The Swimmers: A novel (CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE WINNER)

It's difficult to review a book as heartfelt and true as The Swimmers. Julie Otsuka has written a masterpiece that will be with me forever,The novel is about Alice, a woman with Pick's disease, a type of dementia. The narrative follows the relationship between Alice and her daughter as Alice's disease progresses. The daughter is a writer and the novel has some of the aspects of the best memoirs.This short novel starts with a chapter about swimmers in an underground pool, probably a YMCA. Each swimmer obeys the pool's unspoken rules and keeps to the same lane every day. They are happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of 'the'outside'' because in the pool everything is quiet and peaceful, perfect for all the swimmers. One day, however, a crack appears at the bottom of the pool and this is horribly upsetting to the swimmers. What can it be and what caused it? As the book progresses, I found it a clear metaphor for the beginning of Alice's demise, the crack in her mind so to speak.The next chapter, Diem Perdidi, is a short story, one I believe that Ms. Otsuka has previously published. It is about the progression of her mother's dementia as her daughter looks on. Diem Perdidi, translatesd something like 'the lost day', is beautifully rendered as is the profound sense of loss it conveys.Ultimately, Alice is sent to reside in a long-term care facility that is regimented, cold, and like many medical facilities, caring more about the profit than the patient.I loved the parts of the book that explored the daughter's relationship with Alice, especially her distance from her mother since leaving home for college. Alice sounds like a powerhouse in her youth but it is easy to see how fractious a mother/daughter relationship might have been.Ms. Otsuka writes like no other author. She is unique in her style which I found mesmerizing and lyrical. The book never slows down. It rides, like the wind, on the beauty of the author's words. Her style reminded me of music, with its repetitions and short rifs. The composers Erik Satie and Philip Glass come to mind. This will be one of my top 10 books of 2022 and one of my favorite novels of all time.

I love Otsuka's style of writing and deep insights into human nature, which she conveys with a light and highly readable touch. I picked it up because I am a swimmer and writer, and I did love the personalities at the pool, and I also loved (far more so even) the long and poignant reflection on the loss of autonomy and selfhood that comes with dementia and moving into assisted living. The strange part to me that these were two almost completely separate stories (first half at the pool, the personalities, then the overly long discussion of the crack in the tank that caused the pool to close) followed by the touching and insightful story of the mental decline and move into assisted living by one of the swimmers. I kept waiting for a return to the folks at the pool or some connection drawing the two narratives together at the end, but there was none. It almost felt like two separate short stories published together in a single volume, and while I enjoy them both, I would have found it far more satisfying if the two were more connected. Otsuka is a gifted writer, so I'm sure this was intentional, so that's just my two cents as a reader.

I have a husband with Alzheimer’s. I read this book because it was a novel about a person with dementia. I find the author’s style very interesting. I loved the way she described the swimmers and the pool and the potential issues from the crack. It was all very good.She did a good job describing the family interactions when caring for someone with dementia.However when she came to describing the person living with dementia going into a care facility I became very sad. The culture and type of care in facilities is moving away from the stereotypical old situation she describes. There is a world wide movement to create engaging supportive environments. She missed the boat on that. Sorry to see that.The whole world of dementia care is changing to how to live with a diagnosis instead of sitting around waiting to die from the disease. Sigh.

An excellent book overall. I found it difficult to put down. The author does such a good job "showing" vs. "telling." If that was all the reader gets out of it, it is worth it.An incredible story of the aging and ending process. She does such a good job going through the difficulties of those with dementia and their families face.

This was a difficult yet very important book to read., I had many smiles,during the first section with humorous descriptions of the group of swimmers who escaped the outside world by swimming in an underground pool. The second section, describing the main character's journey into forgetfulness, I could have written myself about my own mothers journey into dementia. From here, the book was a hard read but I had much appreciation for it. Those who have not had this experience with a loved one cannot know what it is truly like. Otsuka was so effective in laying it all out there, like none I had previously read. I want everyone to have a better idea of what a dementia patient goes through, as public awareness is vital in raising money for research, in having a realistic empathy to what families are going through, and also so as not to be blind sided when it DOES happen closer to home. People who have never experienced this in a parent,spouse, etc. seem to be more shocked and confused when it does happen (and it will most likely happen.) Those of us who previously observed this decline in another loved one (grandparent or whoever) at least have had some level of mental and emotional preparation when it hits even closer to home. I feel as though Otsuka is helping to create that bridge of understanding through her story based on her own mother. Yes it is hard to read, even brutal at times, but hiding our face from it will not serve us or these patients well.