Deborah Levy was (already) a published author, with no less than five novels, two collections of short stories, 18 plays and a volume of poetry to her name. However, in an interview with Bookslut she complained that most of her books were out of print and that she was working on getting them in print again.Did she experience difficulty getting Swimming home published with her publisher or any other main publishing house? The novel surprisingly came out with And Other Stories an then new publisher that finances book publications by subscription. Was the jury of the Man Booker Prize perhaps positively biased to niche publishers, or did her work stand out in that area of publishing? Would her novel be noticed and equally well received had it been published by her regural publisher Jonathan Cape? If it had been a strategic move by Deborah Levy to publish the novel in this way, she was rewarded beyond measure: the novel was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and thus the author was catapulted into the limelight. Soon after, her early novels were reissued by Penguin Books.

But is Swimming home really such a good book? Far from it! A muddled story, vague characters and no action. Of course, these are characteristics of many postmodern novels. It is obvious that the author is no newby. She knows something about writing, but she knows very little about telling a story, let alone an interesting story. The jury of the Man Booker Prize should be ashamed to have long listed, and then even short listed the book. ( )

I didn't really like this book. Found it rather depressing and a bit pretentious. Although I agree with most reviewer's content (printed on the cover pages) I don't agree with their kudos. Studies of dark, troubled individuals are not my thing, nor is a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters. By the way hasn't anyone noticed that in the contemporary world Poets are neither rich nor famous -- at least the living ones. ( )

This book is rather wonderful - cryptic, elusive, allusive and dreamlike, and very difficult to encapsulate or describe in a meaningful review.

My only previous exposure to Levy was reading her most recent book Hot Milk, and this book occupies similar territory, at least superficially. Both are full of symbolism and striking imagery, and share similar southern European settings, but ultimately depend more on what is not said than what is.

Levy toys with her characters and appears to understand them better than they do themselves. I won't even attempt to describe the plot, which seems almost irrelevant. ( )

https://msarki.tumblr.com/post/159260018863/swimming-home-by-deborah-levy

…She was not ready to go home and start imitating someone she used to be…

All these suspects on holiday together sharing a villa, a pool, and the rambling grounds of the estate surrounding them are not who they appear to be. The posing of every faker on the premises is not so much remarkable as it is expected. It is the way life goes. Rarely is there authentic intimacy in this type of gathering, but rather infidelities of the most obscene kind. Levy is adept at making it all seem and feel normal. And the threat and portent of doom hovers around the intimates similar to a dark and pregnant cloud.

The story progresses and this doom feels imminent. Trouble is coming for somebody and the victims perhaps will number more than a few. The cast of characters involve two vacationing couples, a daughter, caretaker, restauranteur, neighbor, and an adrift and traveling young girl who generally prefers her public nudity to convention. This somewhat likable woman named Kitty Finch is obviously unstable and provides the impetus for the impending disaster. The focus centers on the accomplished poet Joe, his historical infidelities, and the starving and disturbed young nudist invited to share a room in their villa. Nobody, including the reader, knows why Joe’s partner Isabel invited her to stay except for her facilitating another adultery she has become accustomed to enduring. Manipulation seems to be at the heart of every action. By book’e end I am no nearer a resolution to this seeming madness than when I was at the opening scene as passenger in a car bent on crashing. But end it does.

Secrets, yes. And teeming with them. For me, a rather hollow work devoid of feeling. And though my first foray into her writing, I expected more from Deborah Levy. Especially with all the hype announcing it. ( )

This audio was presented in 5, 15-minute segments. I don't know whether there were only 5 segments instead of 10 because the book is short, or because there wasn't enough substance. I suppose it could be an interesting study in mental illness, but I was put off from the start by the unlikely scenario. Apparently Kitty's nudity was an issue; since the dwelling by rights was in the possession of the family, why didn't they tell her to cover up? And being unnerved by this odd woman, why did they invite her to stay? No hotel? Then leave town. Go somewhere where there was a hotel room. Letting her stay with them was so unbelievable that the whole story immediately went into the fantasy realm, which made me unable to appreciate any serious statement about mental health or personal relationships. ( )