The Swimmer

Read at: https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Cheever_Swimmer.pdf

“It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, ‘I drank too much last night.'

Reading The Trip to Echo Springs reminded me that I still hadn't got around to reading The Swimmer by John Cheever, the short story on which one of my favourite films is based. This is the haunting and surreal tale of Neddie who decides to make his way home from a friend's house by swimming through the string of pools in his suburbun neighbourhood. The concept is simple but its handling is complex, and the whole thing is a metaphor for alcoholism - time dilates and contracts, seasons change and friends become more and more hostile, and all the while Neddie is blind to his own misfortunes. Reminiscent of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and brilliant. Only four stars because it's too short!

The key to appreciating this work is to travel alongside as Neddy. Your ability to come alongside him lets you walk right up to the conclusion, without an explanation. Then you can deduce what threads form the story add to that explanatory vacuum.