In The Swimmers, her third novel, Julie Otsuka narrates an elderly woman’s descent into dementia with vision and wisdom, but the book has a structural fault. Photo: Getty Images
Review |
Julie Otsuka writes about dementia with vision and wisdom in The Swimmers, but its dazzling opening jars with what follows
- The Swimmers is just the third novel from Julie Otsuka in 20 years, and its opening chapters, about a group of obsessive swimming aficionados, are breathtaking
- When its focus shifts to the fate of one among the group, the tonal disparity that produces detracts from Otsuka’s exploration of mental and emotional fracture
In The Swimmers, her third novel, Julie Otsuka narrates an elderly woman’s descent into dementia with vision and wisdom, but the book has a structural fault. Photo: Getty Images
