Review: The Swimmers

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Fell

The Fell by Sarah Moss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The blurb for this book sums it up perfectly. This is a story of Kate, who is on a 2 week quarantine during the pandemic and is feeling cooped up in her home with her son. There is no serious tension between she and her son, but rather an internal tension because Kate loves to be outside and is now confined to the inside. Other characters are representative of this small UK community, where the national park is the main draw for outsiders and Kate is known for long hikes up the hill prior to lockdown.
One afternoon, several days into quarantine, Kate starts off for a hike up into the fell when she runs into some trouble. Her mind has told her to just go and keep going. She breaks all the rules, both of lockdown and quarantine, to her personal rules of how to be prepared for anything when venturing out. Then she has a fall and is in trouble. As darkness sets in, we hear the perspective of Kate, her son, the next door neighbor, and one of the rescue team members.
I appreciated the storyline, that relates both the seriousness of the pandemic to the weight of being isolated and how that affects people differently. This book does a terrific job going between varying opinions as to what level of care and concern is appropriate and reasonable and what has negative effects.
What I didn't care for was the stream of consciousness style of writing. This seemed in place to mirror how these characters would be feeling and thinking to themselves about the events as they happen, but I found this style to be difficult to read. I would lose the plot partly through a long sentence and need to start the sentence over to regain it.
I have mixed feelings about this. I think overall it needs the right reader and it probably isn't for everyone. Therefore, I will recommend it to some but not everyone.
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