The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

The Swimmers by Julie OtsukaFrom the internationally bestselling author of The Buddha in the Attic comes a novel about memory and loss, mothers and daughters, the stories that make up a life, and what happens when they start to unravel \"Up there,\" she says, \"I'm just another little old lady. But down here, at the pool, I'm myself.\" For the people who swim there each day, the local pool is a haven of unexpected kinship and private solace. For Alice, her daily laps have become

compelling in its narrative scope and style

and Stone Blind

they are drawing new boundaries around sets of people and around land and declaring hierarchical relationships between groups that did not exist before

And the events begin to unfold that will change not just Rachael's life

caring for wild ducks and gathering their down

offering readers an insight into the stark reality of the ongoing trauma of Australias violent colonisation

A young woman of means arrives in Hobart

From the Sunday Times No

an eight foot

but more than that

the story follows Rachel

in honour of the Quarter Quell