4/5 stars.
ebook, 203 pages.
Read from July 5, 2020 to July 8, 2020.
I can’t remember how I found this book but I must have put it on hold at the library after reading about it somewhere. I was a competitive swimmer for the majority of my youth so I have always had a close connection with water, making this read a no-brainer. As a species, you could say that we’re really not meant to swim. We are in many ways, the least adapted to do it and yet we’re drawn to it and how it makes us feel. Whether its a pool, ocean or river, we are drawn to what the water gives us.
Bonnie Tsui is a swimmer and wanted to explore the deep connection that humans make with water. She talks to people from around their world with their unique experiences with swimming. The author explores the science on what happens to our bodies in water and how some are capable of changing and adapting to its environment. The author visits Iceland to swim in its waters and to talk to a minor celebrity whose uniquely adapted body allowed him to survive in freezing water for more than 6 hours as he swam to safety after his fishing boat sank. He was the only one on the ship to survive. In Iceland, swimming is ingrained in every community as an important survival skill and beloved pastime. The author talks to renowned open water swimmers and Olympians, to those living in wartime Bagdad where swimming lessons occurred amidst the war, to Japan with its unique history of samurai swimming, all to explore the many ways that we find solace, danger, and challenge in water.
If you don’t swim or have an aversion to water, this book likely won’t speak to you. However, it may help you understand why many are drawn to water when you’re less inclined. For me, this book told me much of what I already felt and knew when it came to my experiences with water. It was wonderful to follow this author’s journey and feel her passion and get the science and history behind some of the unique aspects of our relationship with water. This book is a subtle love letter to water, a thank-you, an expression of appreciation and an insight into our relationship with it. The writing is concise and really gives you a feel for the people that the author is interviewing as well as insights into her own passion and history with water creating a well-rounded and accessible non-fiction read.
If this book sounds at all intriguing to you, then I would highly recommend reading it. It’s short and sweet and made me look up a few further interesting facts and stories based on what the author discussed. Like samurai swimming, I just had to know what it looked like. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
The Pluviophile Writer 
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