Swimming in the Dark is a First Novel Destined to Join the Cannon of Queer Literature

 

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski is destined to join the Canon of must-read Queer Literature.

 

Tomasz Jedrowski's Swimming in the Dark is a Nuanced Portrayal of Gay Love in Communist Poland

"I'm sorry too. Sorry to be living under this bloody system." Your brows furrowed, and you glanced behind us. "Don't say things like that." There was a hint of fear in your voice.

It gave me a strange satisfaction. "What else are we going to do? Let them do anything they please?" - Excerpt from Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski (Pg. 98)

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"He who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence." - William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell

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Cambridge University educated first time Author Tomasz Jedrowski has created something very special in his debut Novel. Swimming in the Dark follows Janusz, a young Intellectual, and his lover Ludwik as they grow together, and then come apart, in Communist Poland.

The story opens with Janusz walking down memory lane. He is living in the United States, thousands of kilometers away from where the events he is recalling took place. On the television he sees news from his home country. The authorities are using ever more repressive strategies to hold onto their power as the country falls apart.

Janusz's thoughts take him back to the Summer after he finished University. In order to graduate, he and others from his cohort were required to attend a 'work education camp' in the Summer following their final year. This involves manual labour on a farm.

During the Summer of 1980, 9 years before the Polish People's Republic will cease to be, Janusz meets Ludwik. There is a mutual attraction. When the work education camp ends, Janusz and Ludwik go camping in Poland's countryside. Alone in the country together, they begin an affair.

Their love affair recalls the kind described by André Aciman in Call Me by Your Name. A relationship of such depth and quality that many covet, but few of us will ever achieve.

Once Summer ends, Janusz and Ludwik return to Warsaw. Here they start to drift apart. Janusz begins preparations to pursue his PhD, while Ludwik goes to work for the Communist regime's censorship bureau, combing to-be-published texts for content that is critical of the government.

The wedge these diverging paths drives between our Protagonists is made quite clear.

"You should know by now that you will never impress me with your work," I heard myself say. "That it will never bring us closer."

Complicating matters further is Ludwik's burgeoning relationship with Hania Karowski, the daughter of a leading Party figure. Hania and her brother Maksio lead a life of unimaginable luxury - at least, unimaginable for the majority of Poles, who must queue in ever longer lines in order to obtain the basics needed for sustaining life.

Ludwik's relationship with Hania is a calculated move on his part, as he sees his future within Poland, as a loyal enabler of the Communist regime.

Janusz, on the other hand, is an Intellectual who becomes increasingly critical of the status quo. Eventually he will act on his principles.

I recommend Swimming in the Dark to anyone with an interest in reading and collecting serious queer literature. This is an exceptionally strong novel that is destined to become part of the Queer Literary Canon.