Swimming in the Dark cover art

Swimming in the Dark

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Swimming in the Dark

By: Tomasz Jedrowski
Narrated by: Robert Nairne
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £4.99

Buy Now for £4.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

You were right when you said that people can't always give us what we want from them.

Poland, 1980. Anxious, disillusioned Ludwik Glowacki, soon to graduate university, has been sent along with the rest of his class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz - and together, they spend a dreamlike summer swimming in secluded lakes, reading forbidden books - and falling in love.

But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw, and to the harsh realities of life under the Party. Exiled from paradise, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.

Swimming in the Dark is an unforgettable debut about youth, love, and loss - and the sacrifices we make to live lives with meaning.

©2018 Tomasz Jedrowski (P)2019 Audible, Ltd
20th Century Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Romance Heartfelt Tear-jerking Emotionally Gripping
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Holding the Man cover art
Boy Parts cover art
The Water Thief cover art
The Dragon Lady cover art
Boys Don't Cry cover art
Maurice cover art
The Swimming Pool Library cover art
Call Me by Your Name cover art
The Charioteer cover art
Cold Sunflowers cover art
Leonora in the Morning Light cover art
Granta cover art
Anna Karenina cover art
The Separation cover art
The Rainbow cover art
Where the Lost Wander cover art

The Pride List of Queer Storytelling

To mark Pride 2023 Audible teamed up with non-profit organisation, Out on the Page, supporter and champion of LGBTQIA+ writers and writing, to release an extensive Pride List of Queer Storytelling. Featuring contributions from some of the UK’s most important and exciting voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, this audiobook is one of the many featured on the list that is available to listen to on Audible.

What listeners say about Swimming in the Dark

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    436
  • 4 Stars
    186
  • 3 Stars
    70
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    427
  • 4 Stars
    138
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    396
  • 4 Stars
    156
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Remarkable story of realisation and hope.

The protagonist has a fine ability to tell things how they may be and conveys the beauty of youthful growth and decisions to make the future happen as hoped for.
A luxurious book that focuses on the spiritual and emotional development with beautiful language and refreshing depth.
Hard not to fall in love with the author for his honest depiction of individuating with all its pain and joy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth reading

A personal, romantic and fictional memoir of the fall of communism in Poland. It is both a moving and a lucid record of a particular place and time.
This isn't a 'great' book in the literary sense. It is a small, intimate and honest book, and more moving for that reason.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Read.

A delightful book that takes the reader on an emotional journey about love and life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

With such heavy topics, it was a light book and enjoyable to listen to, with a good balance of history and humanity!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

A wonderful story, heartache at a difficult period in time. Definitely worth a listen, beautifully narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving.

A touching story, beautifully crafted and sympathetically narrated. For my generation, who grew up gay with neither role models nor acceptance from society, Swimming in the Dark is a particularly poignant story, but it will speak to everyone who could not get the one they loved.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I might be crying now. So powerful.

I’m actually heartbroken now. Maybe because it’s a similar tale to my own. Such a good read that has truly made me feel something.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved every second

completely and utterly beautiful. written and performed with such care and love. thank you for this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love in the time of Communism!

An enjoyable story of forbidden love under the communist regime in Poland, and how the two protagonists adopt different strategies to cope. Well written and heartfelt, I can't help thinking that although the story is timeless, it was written decades too late!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good

Beautiful book. Very descriptive and well narrated. Sad but very meaningful. Loved the Polish setting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!