Poker novels in the summer … “Swimming at home” is a French journey of secrets and desires

Bilal Ramadan wrote

Thursday, 7 September, 2023 at 07:00 AM

Home Swimming… is a novel by Deborah Levy that we recommend to international literary audiences as part of a series. Summer Poker NovelsBecause it is one of the novels in the history of novels to reach the prestigious award lists.

Home Swimming by Deborah Levy is a novel about secrets and desires, and begins when a strange young woman interrupts a family vacation in Nice.

When they arrive at their vacation home, Joe and Isabelle Jacobs discover something strange in the pool. They think it’s a bear, before realizing it’s actually a naked woman. At first, they thought she was dead – but Kitty Finch was still alive.

Her entry makes an impact, which is exactly what she wanted. Kitty appears fragile and broken, her sanity on edge. She turns out to be Joe’s biggest fan, and after Isabel somewhat awkwardly invites her to stay, her predatory behavior towards Joe begins.

Home Swimming’s narrative is ambivalent at every turn and constantly unsettling. Her prose is sometimes sensual, but always tense.

Deborah Levy said… Book browsing: “By the time I finished a novel Swimming pool“I was a different writer than when I started.”

This fever dream of a novel earned her her first Booker Prize nomination in 2012, and made the shortlist twice.