This book's tagline is: "A dip in the Irish Sea is all it takes to wash away their troubles..." The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club centers on three separate women, each facing a troublesome challenge. For the recently widowed Elizabeth, it is the discovery of the immense debt her gambling doctor husband left behind. She lost a child early in life and lived a life of deception throughout her marriage, so Elizabeth is no stranger to difficulty. Still, can she face this alone? Jo lives in a small cottage in Elizabeth's town of Ballycove. She begs her divorced daughter to come from Dublin to fill in for the local doctor position. As soon as Lucy arrives, she can tell Jo is hiding her own secret. Lucy also must deal with her recalcitrant son, Niall, who doesn't appreciate being carted off to the end of the world without his game console. As the women face these challenges, they meet as often as they can to swim in the frigid waters of the sea, a place where the vastness of the universe makes their problems seem miniscule and manageable.
I figured out one thread of the plot line well in advance, yet still enjoyed this delightful novel. Sometimes the phrasing was just beautiful, but I didn't take the time to copy lines from the book (which would have required stopping and backtracking - not an easy task while trying to whittle away pounds). I did not identify this with a content caution, because the cautionary content seemed necessary for the plot. It would be interesting to see if Lifesaving for Beginners offers a similar tale with no cautionary content. Perhaps one day I will see if I can secure that book by interlibrary loan.
2 comments:
I used to swim regularly (When we lived close to a wonderful, inexpensive city rec center and pool). Swimming always felt like it washed my heart, freeing me of worry and stress. Even without reading this book, I relate to it!
Swimming is my preferred method of exercise. I swam laps during each of my pregnancies (first in the university pool, then a community pool, then a high school pool). I was tempted in fall of 2023 to begin swimming again at the local hs pool, but the hours are so early and it was cold out and I have glasses now (cannot see without them). Many excuses, and I know they are excuses, but... can't bring myself to fork out the money (it was about $6 per session) or the effort to make it happen.
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