Book cover of The Swimmers

Book description

From the internationally bestselling author of The Buddha in the Attic

Up above there are wildfires, smog alerts, epic droughts, paper jams, teachers' strikes, insurrections, revolutions, record-breaking summers of unendurable heat, but down below, at the pool, it is always a comfortable eighty-one degrees ...

Alice is one of a…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Swimmers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is a compelling look at aging and dementia through the eyes of a swimmer exploring her personal backstory in Japanese American incarceration camps. But it's also a fine set up for relationship conflict/love with her daughter. With a speculative imagination, Julie Otsuka spins a unique tale of heroism and literally propels us through with her beautiful writing just as the swimmers propel themselves through the pool.

I loved this book so much that after reading it, and returning it to the library, I wanted to buy my own copy. I wanted this book to sit on my shelf, right behind my desk, even if I never read it again, though I know I will.

The Swimmers is a book that swallowed me up into a world, which at first, I didn’t quite understand. Yet, I didn’t care. I would have gone anywhere that the author was taking me. The language carried me along, the voice touched me deeply, and finally, as the story became clear, broke…

If you love The Swimmers...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Swimmers?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Swimmers.

Browse books like The Swimmers

Book cover of Yusra Swims
Book cover of Swimming for My Life: A Memoir
Book cover of Wild Woman Swimming: A Journal of West Country Waters

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,276

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Swimmers, you might also like...

Book cover of The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More: A Great Wharf Novel

The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More by Meredith Marple,

The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.

Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…

Book cover of That First Heady Burn

That First Heady Burn by George Bixley,

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of…

5 book lists we think you will like!