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Learning to Swim

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Learning to Swim

By: Clare Chambers
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the highly-acclaimed author of Small Pleasures - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021.

Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again.

The Radleys were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad.

Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but 13 years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken....

©1998 Clare Chambers (P)2021 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Feel-Good

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All stars
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I was absorbed in the lives of these characters from the start, and the writer has a way with imagery. Brilliant.

Perfect narration of a wonderful story.

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loved it. Great characters and good story about love. would recommend. UK based book. Great.

Great modern romance

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Beautiful story funny evocative and real vent to all of us who lived in 79’s as teens and beautifully told

Beautiful story

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Started a bit slowly but I really got into it. Very enjoyable story. The narrator was perfect, have searched for other books she's narrated but sadly didn't find any.

A good story

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Love this writer, her stories and characters are so believable, always intriguing and I seem to finish the books in one go.
Learning to swim was a lovely read, beautifully narrated and wholeheartedly recommend.

Warm and funny, a snapshot of family lives

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Claire Chambers is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. Her ability to draw characters and events is so insightful and clever that the plot almost becomes secondary. Fantastic narration, a joy to listen to.

just brilliant

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Great plot and characters - Like all her books brilliantly told - I really enjoyed it. Read wonderfully !

The details used to make the story real.

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Read 'Small pleasures' recently and just love this author's style. Learning to swim did not disappoint. Beautifully written observational gem.

An awesome book about ordinary people.

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Loved this, feeling nostalgic for those awkward teenage years. Great characters and Beautiful written and read.

Couldn’t stop listening

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This is absolutely delightful - a gentle but absorbing story of a girl's obsession with an essentially dysfunctional but interesting family and the ripples that result from this relationship. I absolutely loved the narration and I listened to the whole thing in about two days. It reminded me a bit of I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith.
Clare Chambers is marvellous.

Wonderful coming of age novel

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