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Swimming in the Dark

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Swimming in the Dark

By: Tomasz Jedrowski
Narrated by: Robert Nairne
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About this listen

You were right when you said that people can't always give us what we want from them.

Poland, 1980. Anxious, disillusioned Ludwik Glowacki, soon to graduate university, has been sent along with the rest of his class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz - and together, they spend a dreamlike summer swimming in secluded lakes, reading forbidden books - and falling in love.

But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw, and to the harsh realities of life under the Party. Exiled from paradise, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.

Swimming in the Dark is an unforgettable debut about youth, love, and loss - and the sacrifices we make to live lives with meaning.

©2018 Tomasz Jedrowski (P)2019 Audible, Ltd 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Heartfelt Tear-jerking Emotionally Gripping

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The Pride List of Queer Storytelling

To mark Pride 2023 Audible teamed up with non-profit organisation, Out on the Page, supporter and champion of LGBTQIA+ writers and writing, to release an extensive Pride List of Queer Storytelling. Featuring contributions from some of the UK’s most important and exciting voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, this audiobook is one of the many featured on the list that is available to listen to on Audible.
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The protagonist has a fine ability to tell things how they may be and conveys the beauty of youthful growth and decisions to make the future happen as hoped for.
A luxurious book that focuses on the spiritual and emotional development with beautiful language and refreshing depth.
Hard not to fall in love with the author for his honest depiction of individuating with all its pain and joy.

Remarkable story of realisation and hope.

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A personal, romantic and fictional memoir of the fall of communism in Poland. It is both a moving and a lucid record of a particular place and time.
This isn't a 'great' book in the literary sense. It is a small, intimate and honest book, and more moving for that reason.

Worth reading

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A delightful book that takes the reader on an emotional journey about love and life

A Great Read.

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With such heavy topics, it was a light book and enjoyable to listen to, with a good balance of history and humanity!

Wow

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A wonderful story, heartache at a difficult period in time. Definitely worth a listen, beautifully narrated

Beautiful

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A touching story, beautifully crafted and sympathetically narrated. For my generation, who grew up gay with neither role models nor acceptance from society, Swimming in the Dark is a particularly poignant story, but it will speak to everyone who could not get the one they loved.

Moving.

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I’m actually heartbroken now. Maybe because it’s a similar tale to my own. Such a good read that has truly made me feel something.

I might be crying now. So powerful.

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completely and utterly beautiful. written and performed with such care and love. thank you for this

loved every second

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An enjoyable story of forbidden love under the communist regime in Poland, and how the two protagonists adopt different strategies to cope. Well written and heartfelt, I can't help thinking that although the story is timeless, it was written decades too late!

Love in the time of Communism!

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Beautiful book. Very descriptive and well narrated. Sad but very meaningful. Loved the Polish setting.

Really good

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