Fiction
2020 Simon & Schuster
Finished on June 6, 2022
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets.
Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers escaping to “America’s Playground” and move into the small apartment above their bakery. This is the apartment where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence. Now Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams.
When tragedy strikes, Esther makes the shocking decision to hide the truth—at least until Fannie’s baby is born—and pulls the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, bringing long-buried tensions to the surface that reveal how quickly the act of protecting those we love can turn into betrayal after tragedy.
I chose to kick off my Summer Reading Challenge with Rachel Beanland's debut novel Florence Adler Swims Forever. I love the nostalgic cover art, and the promise of both a family saga and a historical novel made for an easy decision to do so. Based on the true events of a family story (centered around the author's great-great-aunt, Florence Lowenthal), the plot is slowly revealed in rotating chapters, told by seven of the eight main characters, during the summer of 1934.
It felt like it took too many chapters to get into the meat of the novel, and I was shocked by the central event that takes place early in the narrative, but as the story progressed, I came to care about the characters (well, most of them) and looked forward to returning to the book each night. Some readers may not care for the ending, but I thought it was appropriate, especially after reading the author's note and extra material for book groups. I don't have any favorite passages from the novel (although I might after I read it a second time), but I especially liked the following from the author's interview:
What I do know is that women are frequently underestimated, and my experiences as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother contradict the narrative that we can't hold great sorrow and great joy in our hands at the same time. In fact, it's often the only thing we can do.
Florence Adler Swims Forever will appeal to fans of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. With antisemitic themes and secrets between family members, book groups will have plenty to discuss about this charming, heart-felt book. After reading the final chapters and supplementary content provided for book group discussions, my rating went from three to four stars. Recommend!
Click here to read the author's essay On Family Secrets and How We Deliver Bad News and here for her essay Good Grief.
