The Swimmers By, Julie Otsuka

 

Aging, grief and loss and the benefits of a daily dose of water therapy, swimming laps in a pool. The swimmers are unknown to one another, but they are there every day for a variety of reasons, all in their individual lanes, swimming in their world away-from the friction of their lives. Alice was there daily, casting a final stand, against the dark, encroaching world of dementia.

"One of us-Alice, a retired lab technician now in the early stages of dementia-comes here because she always has. And even though she may not remember the combination to her locker or where she put her towel, the moment she slips into the water she knows what to do. Her stroke is long and fluid, her kick is strong, her mind clear. "Up there, she says, "I'm just another little old lady. But, down here, at the pool, I'm myself."

A crack forms at the bottom of the pool, and their lives are shaken as the swimmers search for meaning and how this may upend their routine. Each swimmer, highlighted with their individual narrative, lane 4-labelled "aggressive lappers, oblivious backstrokers, tailgaters, lane Nazis, arm flailers, the peeper, the woman in lane four with the wild, overextended stroke, (too much yoga). " The Author portrays the swimming world in seering sarcasm that captures the essence of the lap swimming with wit and humor that is both heartbreaking, hysterical and ultimately, a quiet meditation on grief and loss.

As the Aquatics Director, investigates the crack-"We're looking into it." The book quietly follows Alice and her daughter, who struggles to understand the mental demise of her Mother. The Author eloquently surmises the heartwrenching, and poignancy of her Mother's dementia diagnosis as, "She failed the test." 

The Author writes, in lyrical prose, and captures the details of everyday moments, infused with emotional gravity that stops you mid sentence to reflect on the meaning. When the Author visits her Mother in the nursing home she reflects, "You find her sitting quietly in the Day Room by the window that looks out onto the street, watching the children walk home from school. Her hands are neatly folded, like two birds, in the shallow dip of her lap. Her nails are clean. Her hair is pressed flat to her head. She seems calm, possibly sedated. As soon as she sees you, however, she becomes so excited she almost begins to cry, "You came" , she says. And then she lowers her voice to a whisper, "I'm so embaressed, I can hardly wait to get in the car and go home." 

We follow Alice, her father and daughter to the end, when the Author ends with "one last memory." 

Truly, a Five Star read. I purchased the book, so I can revisit it often.

Other Books by the Author:

The Buddha in the Attic 2013

When The Emperor Was Devine 2003