I was provided The Union of Synchronised Swimmers by Cristina Sandu as an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.
It’s summer behind the Iron Curtain, and six girls begin a journey to the Olympics. But will they return?
In a stateless place, on the wrong side of a river separating East from West, six girls meet each day to swim. At first, they play, splashing each other and floating languidly on the water’s surface. But as summer draws to an end, the game becomes something more.
They hone their bodies relentlessly. Their skin shades into bruises. They barter cigarettes stolen from the factory where they work for swimsuits to stretch over their sunburnt skin.
They tear their legs into splits, flick them back and forth, like herons. They force themselves to stop breathing.
Then, one day, it finally happens: their visas arrive. But can what’s waiting on the other side of the river satisfy their longing for a different kind of life?
This novella follows 6 points of view of the different swimmers and has an almost offbeat feel to it that was interesting. I liked the premise of the book and it was readable but I was disappointed that it was so short and that the reader never really got to know any of the characters but rather just had small glimpses into their lives, thus I couldn’t establish a relationship or rapport with any of them and that disappointed me.
Overall it was a good read but not very relatable and for that reason it is only 2.5 stars for me.
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