“My May Monthly Read is Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age love story set against the brutal political backdrop of Communist Poland in the 1980s. Young lovers Ludwik and Janusz spend an idyllic summer wild camping and swimming in lakes, but when the time comes to return to Warsaw the moral compromises they will have to make to continue their forbidden romance become apparent. At the same time, the country is suffering its own identify crisis – Communism is beginning to crumble, and Ludwik and Janusz find they are not the only ones living a lie.
“Taking the form of a love letter from Ludwik to Janusz, reading Swimming In the Dark is a bit like peering into someone’s most intimate moments of self-discovery. It’s poetic and tender, burning with a quiet rage at the persecution the LGBTQ+ community in Poland has suffered for decades and continues to fight against today. It’s a beautiful story – I hope you love it as much as I do” – Dua Lipa
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