The Swimmer
A gripping, captivating novel about love, loss and what home really means.
Forty-three year old Ria is used to being alone. As a child, her life changed forever with the death of her beloved father and since then, she has struggled to find love.That is, until she discovers the swimmer.
Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. He is twenty years her junior and theirs is an unconventional but deeply moving romance, defying both boundaries and cultures – and the xenophobic residents of Orford. That is, until tragedy occurs.
”'A tender, unconventional love story unfolds, until tragedy intervenes…Tearne’s descriptions of the wide Suffolk skies are breathtaking; she has a wonderful ability to create atmosphere” - The Times
”'Broodingly atmospheric…Roma Tearne is one of those writers who manage to interweave the political and personal to tremendous effect…Tearne captures a shifting social and political landscape and questions notions of home and homeland…[she] draws her characters with an artist’s precision… her extraordinary book offers a rare insight into the subtle and dramatic ways we are shaped by conflict, and how our personal lives can be overtaken by political forces” - Independent
”'Topical themes such as the war on terror and the treatment of asylum seekers are cleverly presented against a background of love, grief and guilt; all this is drawn together by a theme of belonging…this is beautifully atmospheric writing, deeply moving and thought-provoking” - Books Quarterly (Waterstones)
”'A lyrical tale of love and loss” - Country and Town House
”'[A] moving tale of forbidden love” - Bella