I've definitely slowed down with my reading since the summer - my only book this month was Swimming To Lundy by Amanda Prowse. This was one of the choices from the online book club run by Leslie.
The main character in this book is Tawrie Gunn who is feeling that life is passing her by. Still living in the same house in the same seaside town where she was born but tethered to the family home following the tragedy of her father being lost at sea when she was small. Her mother's grief has resulted in her becoming an alcoholic and Tawrie feels that she has to stay home to help her grandmother to look after her.
As time moves on she feels that there has to be more to life than working in her cousin's cafe, and Tawrie dreams of training to becoming a nurse and then midwife which would be more fulfilling. Feeling desperate for some kind of change, no matter how small, Tawrie joins the Peacock Swimmers who take a daily swim in the sea. Unbeknown to Tawrie, there are only two other swimmers but nonetheless she joins the group, swimming in the sea which separates the coastline from Lundy Island which is where her dad drowned. Being in that area of sea makes Tawrie feel closer to her dad and she finds comfort in talking to him whilst in the water which took his life.
An unexpected encounter with a man named Ed who is visiting the area leads to romance. Little does Tawrie know that this was not the first time that they met and they aren't the strangers she thought they were. Furthermore, Ed has a past which he is not in a hurry to reveal.
This is a book which is a bit of a slow burner! I did enjoy it but it seemed to take a long time to come together. I felt that Tawrie really needed to have a bit more 'get up and go' but it was clever how the stories of Tawrie and Harriet are intertwined and I enjoyed the description of the location of the story which brought back happy memories of holidays on that part of the English coastline. If you are looking for an easy read this is a good book to try!
I've heard this is a good one but someone referred to the main character as someone who was very vanilla and seemed completely content to stay vanilla! LOL Seems like you had a similar thought about her.
ReplyDeleteI just wished she had a bit more 'oomph' to her!
DeleteTawrie (a most unique name) needed a bit more get up and go! Ha...that's rather funny:) Good for you, sticking with it until the end. I have trouble finishing those "slow burners." Hope your week is off to a good start. How did the child-minding go over the weekend?
ReplyDeleteI think I've just about recovered from the childcare and dog care duties! The kids were fine but the puppy was a crazy, chaotic nightmare ;-)
DeleteTBH, not sure this will be my cup of tea, but I'm adding it to my TBR list anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Deb, I couldn't agree more. I wanted to grab Tawrie by the ear tell her to get a move on. Life is awaiting!! Having been a waitress for a number of years, I cannot imagine being 'satisfied' with doing just that forever. Just finished this book last night. Not my favorite. I have started listening to How to Read a Book and really like it. Much more likeable characters. Hope you are able to get it in the UK. Thank you for the mention!!
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