Swimming Lessons

It was a really good book, and I enjoyed the structure of the story with its two time periods and one extra time period nested inside one of them; it was a treat to read.

****SPOILERS******

I did feel a mix of sadness and frustration as the mom ended up living the exact life that she never wanted, just basically checking everything off the list one by one. And the frustration came in because it's not like she actively chose any of those things, she just failed to make a decision and let herself be carried along with things - which is in itself a decision process, but a piss-poor one to live your life by.

Clare Fuller definitely has some talent, but I wouldn't recommend “Swimming Lessons.” Despite being a somewhat quick read, the book drags.

The premise is good, yet the book is filled with stock characters (philandering professor-turned-author? Undervalued wife, who actually writes successful husband's book, but sticks around despite philandering? Check! Generally dysfunctional family? Check! Self-absorbed, jerk of a daughter who is angry for no reason? Check! Other daughter who is responsible is described as manly and we. later learn is a lesbian? Check! Excessive water imagery, including a Dad named Gil? Check!). Frankly, the characters are generally unlikeable; that seems to be a trend in popular fiction lately and I, for one, would like it to stop! That's not to say that likeable characters are the only way to go, but people have nuances. People have redeeming qualities. People have senses of humor (lacking in this novel). A good writer is able to weave various character strands together to create a breathing being. Louise, for example, made no sense whatsoever and seemed shoe-horned in at the end.

Ingrid is the most fleshed-out character and I get her point of view as she's around my Mom's age. While women's lib was going on in the 70s, culture still hadn't adjusted to the extent it has in the 20-teens and women didn't have the career options available to them. Families still had to be taken care of. What's questionable is that Ingrid never gets a profession after her children are in school. The most poignant parts of the book were the losses of three children and her inability to connect to the two that lived.

How does this title get up to 2 stars? Because the idea of a wife who has left the family leaving random letters in books is pretty neat. But, who writes letters in which full dialogues between characters are included? If the letters had been more, we'll, letterly, I think the device would have worked out better. The beginning of each letter starts out more letterly and then switches to point-of-view style similar to the rest of the novel. The selection of book for each letter is actually pretty witty, although I wasn't familiar with one of them.

So, all in all, not a waste of time, but not great.