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Swimming: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 711 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A ferociously original novel, sparkling with wit and blazing with emotion, from a gifted new novelist.
A spectacular debut about the rise of an Olympic champion—a novel about competition, obsession, the hunger for victory, and a young girl with an unsinkable spirit struggling to stay afloat in the only way she can.
When we first meet Pip, the extraordinary heroine of Nicola Keegan's first novel, she is landlocked in a small town in the center of Kansas, literally swimming for her life. Pip is tall and flat and smart and funny and supernaturally buoyant. On land, she has her share of troubles: an agoraphobic mother, a lost father, a drug-addled sister, and a Catholic education dominated by a group of high-energy nuns. But in the water, Pip is unstoppable. In the water, her suffering and rage are transmuted into grace and speed and beauty.
Swimming is the story of Pip's journey from a small Midwestern swim team to her first state meet, her brutal professional training, and the final, record-breaking swims that lead to her dizzying ascent to the Olympic podium in Barcelona. It's the story of a girl who discovers, in the loneliness of adolescence, in the family tragedies that threaten to engulf her, the resilience of the human spirit and the spectacular power of her own body.
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"I read this book a year or two ago and just re-read it recently to try and break myself out of my post-Olympic depression. (Yes, I harbor an addiction to the Games often finding myself up at 5am watching canoe slalom or ping pong... er... table tennis). Anyway, this book is a fantastic story of a "damaged" champion. I found it hilarious and heart-breaking. The writing is incredibly innovative and thoughtful. Loved loved loved it!"
— Ann (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“I loved Swimming. It’s the most original novel I’ve read all year. I can’t get Pip’s voice out of my mind.”
— Judy Blume -
“Ravishing…[Keegan’s] less interested in anatomizing championship swimming than in surveying the emotional landscape of her singular participant, which she maps with gorgeous technique and a life-giving quotient of snark.”
— New York Times -
“Deadpan hilarious…fun and imaginative…An ambitious and exhilarating novel about a girl for whom swimming is as vital as breathing…The muscular energy of Keegan’s prose…works in bursts—short, punchy clauses and chapters—and Pip’s voice is wryly comic, even when events turn tragic.”
— Time -
“You don’t have to be a swimmer to respond to this story; you don’t even have to be into sports (heck, I spent all of high school PE hiding in the marching band and I loved this book)…[the] tension between exuberance and despair is what gives this novel such reckless buoyancy…Completely absorbing…The book delivers some knockout scenes at the Olympics, enriched by Pip’s quirky humor about her competitors and the media’s inanity.”
— Washington Post
Awards
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A 2009 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Fiction
Swimming Listener Reviews
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" The book was well-written for what it was but it is very odd. The story parts were as disjointed as the main character. Clearly the point and a process that gave the character a really crazy persona. The problem is I tend to like books that have a flow, especially if I am listening to the on audiobook as I was with this one. "
— Caitlyn, 2/20/2014 -
" I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book. Then . . . .I don't know what happened. I just thought it started wandering aimlessly and never really came back. It's too bad because up until then I was loving this story. "
— Erin, 2/1/2014 -
" First book, stunning. I really liked it. "
— Linda, 1/25/2014 -
" I am looking forward to read another book of this writer. I am a swimmer, but I can feel like Philomena not only because of this... "
— Antonio, 1/12/2014 -
" Swimming was an introspective & fascinating look inside the mind of a professional athlete. It's a heavy book, if not depressing, with bits of triumph woven here and there. Fairly well written, but the end drags on and on. Overuse of the "F" word annoyed me. "
— Juanita, 12/26/2013 -
" I loved this book for its differences. It moves back and forth in time just like the inside of Philomena's mind. Even though it spans 12 years, I was very much "in the moment" with her. For so many pages I thought she would jsut keep swimming back and forth and not moving anywhere emotionally. Then the breakthrough is so sudden and moving. Her life is not solved but she moves on into the unknown. Very satisfying. "
— Alena, 12/19/2013 -
" Not even finishing it. TOO slow for me. I have been reading it a week and only on page 79. Maybe I just don'e get it. "
— Penny, 12/11/2013 -
" Intense book. Started out slow with a strange voice. The voice didn't grow on me, but the story pulled me in. "
— Courtneyreedjenkins, 11/28/2013 -
" I liked the writing OK, and the story was OK. I thought the main character was interesting, and there are some pretty passages. "
— Kammy, 11/28/2013 -
" Only about 1/3 was about swimming. The beginning and end were more about her thoughts and family life. I thought it got very strange at the end, and it didn't end the way I had hoped. I would recommend it for anyone who swims competitively though. "
— Julie, 11/27/2013 -
" Excellent, very well done. Very different from other fiction. "
— Jen, 9/7/2013 -
" It felt strangely fabricated in a way I didn't appreciate. "
— Jessica, 5/13/2013 -
" The beginning of this book was excellent and so well written but the last third just went on and on and on..... finally I put it down with 100 pages left because it just didn't interest me anymore. "
— Mary, 8/24/2012 -
" Hated it after the second chapter. Just couldn't read any more. Totally weird writing style that kept the book from having an easy flow. "
— Wisteriouswoman, 8/17/2012 -
" Still reading ; about midway. I'm pulled into the story but not enthralled. Pip's emotional roller coaster can be exhausting, but I still am intrigued enough to continue. "
— Marion, 4/8/2012 -
" Well written and deeply boring. I just can't get interested in the world of competitive swimmers. "
— Selma, 3/13/2012 -
" man this started out SO strong. I was in awe of her writing, the way she chose to carry her narrative, and how richly painted her characters were, which carried over to even the secondary characters. but i all but gave up near the end. I found i couldn't stand Pip anymore. Bummed. "
— Ak., 1/5/2012 -
" As a parent of a competitive swimmer, I probably appreciated this book more than others might. But I think this book could have benefited from some tighter editing. "
— Anne, 9/27/2011 -
" The language is beautiful, and the details create an authenticity that connects character and reader. "
— Jayne, 5/25/2011 -
" Swimming was an introspective & fascinating look inside the mind of a professional athlete. It's a heavy book, if not depressing, with bits of triumph woven here and there. Fairly well written, but the end drags on and on. Overuse of the "F" word annoyed me. "
— Juanita, 5/19/2011 -
" A fantastic debut novel that covers everything imaginable - love, loss, friendship, enemies, stardom, death, school, religion. Philomena's voice is strong and clear i this coming of age novel,and her her sense of humor, wit, and sarcasm add great depth to the story. This book is a treat to read. "
— Kelly, 5/5/2011 -
" I liked the writing OK, and the story was OK. I thought the main character was interesting, and there are some pretty passages. "
— Kammy, 4/23/2011 -
" I enjoyed the writing, but I didn't really like the characters. I swam in high school and if I hadn't, I'm not sure that I would have liked the book as much. A solid three stars. "
— Gina, 4/1/2011 -
" Enjoyable, but mixed. The narrator's voice is entertaining and mixed, but at times the plot lags - especially toward the end, when she is trying to find her way out of competitive swimming. "
— Chris, 3/6/2011 -
" I stopped reading this. I'm not sure what all the accolades were for. I found the main character unappealing. I simply didn't care about her. The best character with the most promise was her father. Sadly, he wasn't in too much of the book. VERDICT: Don't bother. "
— Whit, 3/2/2011 -
" I so wish I could do 1/2 stars. This book gets 3 1/2. I really liked it, I thought it was well written and had some beautiful phrases. A young girl in a dysfunctional family dealing with death at a young age, and also a lot about swimming. "
— Kasurls, 2/17/2011 -
" Intense book. Started out slow with a strange voice. The voice didn't grow on me, but the story pulled me in. "
— Courtneyreedjenkins, 1/25/2011 -
" Tried to read this but the writing was so small and didn't really seem to be going anywhere. It may well be a great read but I didn't have the inclination to continue with this to find out. "
— Julie, 12/30/2010 -
" I enjoyed this book on many levels - one being the reminder of what it is like to be in the pool practicing day after day...miss those days (in some ways), but also brought back memories of riding the bus to meets...cranking Ozzy Osbourne and Queen. "
— Gretchen, 10/11/2010 -
" Interesting getting inside the head of a swimmer. "
— Camille, 10/11/2010
About Nicola Keegan
Nicola Keegan, born abroad and raised in America, now divides her time between Ireland and France with her husband and children.