No matter what happens in the world, however brutal or dystopian a thing, not all is lost if there are people out there risking themselves to document it. Little sparks cause fires, too.”
― Tomasz Jedrowski, Swimming in the DarkThe odds had been stacked against us from the start: we had no manual, no one to show us the way. Not one example of a happy couple made up of boys. How were we supposed to know what to do? Did we even believe that we deserved to get away with happiness?
― Tomasz Jedrowski, Swimming in the Dark
This is about a doomed love story set in communist Poland in the early 1980s. Even though it is heartbreaking, the beauty of the story and the satisfaction I felt at the end – for the narrator and for his beloved – surpassed the tragedy of their situation.
Ludwik is the only child of a single mother. Growing up in a mid-sized city in Poland, Ludwik remains relatively sheltered from the restrictions imposed upon them by the government. However, when his childhood friend and first crush must leave suddenly on account of his family being Jewish, Ludwik’s mother and grandmother begin to show him, in both small and big ways, how secrets are the only way he can remain safe.
From here, we skip ahead to Ludwik as he and one hundred other recent university graduates are sent to a beet farm as part of a mandatory month-long work camp. Ludwik is an introvert. He knows he is gay but he doesn’t dare tell anyone, even his best friend Karolina.
At the camp, Ludwik notices Janusz. Janusz is friendly and mostly hangs out with his own circle of friends. Ludwik steals glances at him but avoids him for fear of another man putting a name to what Ludwik is.
On a solo walk one evening, Ludwik discovers Janusz swimming in the river. Janusz invites him in, but Ludwik demurs, instead preferring to remain on the bank. Afterwards, Janusz seeks him out, tries to get to know Ludwik despite his reserved nature. After explaining that he loves to read, Janusz asks what Ludwik is reading and he admits he is reading a forbidden text: Giovanni’s Room. When he loans it to Janusz, he fears he will be discovered, but he also trusts Janusz enough to not out him.
On the last day of camp, as everyone is packing up, Janusz invites Ludwik to travel with him to the nearby lake country. They will camp and fish and go hiking for a few weeks before both of them must return to the city.
Together at last, with no one around them, Janusz and Ludwik begin a romance. These are the halcyon days of first love, when the outside world can neither see nor judge them. Of course, they must return to being friends once they return to the city. Janusz is starting a new job with the government. While Ludwik questions the party’s policies and expresses hatred for the inequalities he experiences, Janusz believes that the country is better because of the government. Because of communism, his family and his hometown were protected and sustained. Janusz, however, becomes more and more disillusioned, his formerly quiet self is pushed to acts of defiance that could land him in jail or worse.
This book was more than I expected. I expected a slice of life set in communist Poland and I did get that. But the beauty of the story and the way the author showed Ludwik’s transformation from fearful student to reluctant revolutionary was extremely powerful.