Swimming in the Dark 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.” — Justin Torres, National Book Award-winning author of Blackouts and We the Animals
“Reading Swimming in the Dark 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.” — Dua Lipa, on selecting Swimming in the Dark for her Service95 book club
“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].” — The Guardian
“[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.” — Interview Magazine
"This is a lyrical exploration of the conflict between gay love and political conformity. Jedrowski is an authentic new international star." — Edmund White, award-winning author of Our Young Man
“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.” — Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Marvelous, precise, poignant writing; the reader is happy to be overwhelmed. The highest talent at work." — Sebastian Barry, award-winning author of Days Without End
“One of the most astonishing contemporary gay novels we have ever read. Swimming in the Dark is extraordinarily beautiful . . . Erotic, mesmeric, heart-rending and brutal, this is a masterpiece.” — Attitude magazine (UK)
“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.” — Literary Review (UK)
“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.” — The Gay & Lesbian Review
“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.” — The Independent , 11 Best LGBTQ+ Books to Read During Pride Month and Beyond
“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.” — Ari Shapiro, NPR, Book Concierge
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.”
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.
One of the most astonishing contemporary gay novels we have ever read. Swimming in the Dark is extraordinarily beautiful . . . Erotic, mesmeric, heart-rending and brutal, this is a masterpiece.
"Marvelous, precise, poignant writing; the reader is happy to be overwhelmed. The highest talent at work."
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.
null The Gay & Lesbian Review
★ 02/03/2020
Jedrowski’s dazzling debut charts an evocative sexual awakening and coming of age amid political unease in early 1980s Poland. At a summer work camp in 1980, 22-year-old Ludwik Głowacki meets the broad-shouldered Janusz, with whom he discusses the repression and loneliness of gay men in their society. In second-person narration addressed to his new friend and lover, Ludwik reflects on furtive childhood desires (“Years of yearning compressed like a muscle, pulsating mercilessly”) and describes their secret savoring of a banned James Baldwin book. Despite their ease of connection, Ludwik and Janusz are on opposite sides of a political divide: Janusz is happy to work within the system and gets a government job deciding which books should be published, which Ludwik—who has to carefully craft a literary doctoral thesis that won’t go against the party line—sees as censorship. Additionally, Janusz’s sexual relationship with a wealthy young woman named Hania, which he carries on in hopes of benefiting from her father’s political connections, creates conflict between the two men. Readers will relish the indelible prose, which approaches the mastery of Alan Hollinghurst. Jedrowski’s portrayal of Poland’s tumultuous political transformation over several decades makes this a provocative, eye-opening exploration of the costs of defying as well as complying with social and political conventions. (Apr.) Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled the author's last name.
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.
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].
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.
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.
[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.
"This is a lyrical exploration of the conflict between gay love and political conformity. Jedrowski is an authentic new international star."
Swimming in the Dark is bound to become a queer literary classic, and its rather sweeping political dimension breaks new ground in the genre.”
null The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
"A stupendous read: I could not put the book down. I urge you to order this book now. Its eloquence, its understanding of identity, belonging, loneliness and love is second to none. Powerful and uplifting."
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.”
Swimming in the Dark 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.
"The surprise of Swimming in the Dark lies in its intimate ambivalencethat it captures the pleasures of everyday life behind the iron curtain as well as the privations. A beautiful, captivating love story that deepened my understanding of life in communist era Poland.
Imagine Call Me By Your Name 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.
"Beautifully judged, very moving, passionate… I was completely gripped."
★ 03/01/2020
DEBUT This poignant love story unfolds against the backdrop of Communist Poland as the regime is about to come to its ignominious end in the 1980s. Amid the deprivations and duplicity of the era, two college students—Ludwik and Janusz—fall in love after meeting at a summer camp. They then spend an idyllic several weeks together in the countryside before returning to their lives in Warsaw. And that's where their troubles begin. It eventually becomes apparent to protagonist Ludwik that his lover is ready to make all kinds of compromises to get by in a corrupt and hated political system—including making love to the daughter of an important official. Meantime, the more idealistic Ludwik struggles with his homosexuality, fully aware that it is a danger in a state where the government uses it to blackmail citizens. Eventually, he is left with the choice of compromising or leaving the country. VERDICT German born of Polish parents, debut author Jedrowski here writes in English, and his lyrical prose reveals a complete command of the language. Readers who enjoy this impressive work will eagerly anticipate the author's next book. Highly recommended for all who enjoy a tale of love under the most difficult circumstances. [See Prepub Alert, 10/7/19.]—Edward B. Cone, New York
2020-01-13 A young gay man enters into a clandestine affair in the repressive political climate of communist Poland in the early 1980s.
From his new home in the Polish community of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Ludwik addresses this narrative to Janusz, the handsome university student he met at an agricultural "work education" camp outside Warsaw in the summer of 1980. His first sighting of Janusz is a pure coup de foudre, described in typically swoony terms: "A flash of heat traveled from my stomach to my cheeks, my thoughts jumbled like a ball of string….It was as if your presence already overpowered me, like a prophecy I was unable to read." Their summer romance, initiated during a hiking trip to the lake district, is an idyll that cannot last; the gray realities of Warsaw life—food and medicine shortages, tight party control over university advancement, an emerging protest movement subject to crackdown—will come between the lovers. While Ludwik imagines leaving the country to escape its oppressions (James Baldwin's novel of gay expatriate life in Paris, Giovanni's Room , is a touchstone), Janusz dates Hania, the daughter of an apparatchik, in order to enjoy special privileges. "Everyone is leading someone on," Janusz explains. "So what's wrong with taking things into your own hands and not letting yourself go under?" Their conflict comes to a head during a debauched weekend at the country estate of Hania's family, leading Ludwik toward his eventual fate. Debut novelist Jedrowski, born to Polish parents in Germany and now living in France, writes confidently in English—though his prose can turn overripe and his characters feel undernourished.
A broody tale of gay love and life behind the Iron Curtain.