Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Maybe they imagined they were stars, or angels, or insane birds. Sometimes they grabbed each other's hands and legs and twisted them so harshly that it was a miracle nothing broke. When they all squatted in the water with just their hands above the surface, it was as if they were praying. There was something terrifying about it.
In a stateless place, on the wrong side of a river separating East from West, six girls meet each day to swim. At first, they play, splashing each other and floating languidly on the water's surface. But as summer draws to an end, the game becomes something more.
They hone their bodies relentlessly. Their skin shades into bruises. They barter cigarettes stolen from the factory where they work for swimsuits to stretch over their sunburnt skin. They tear their legs into splits, flick them back and forth, like herons. They force themselves to stop breathing.
Then, one day, it finally happens: their visas arrive. But can what's waiting on the other side of the river satisfy their longing for a different kind of life?
Synopsis
It's summer behind the Iron Curtain, and six girls are about to swim their way to the Olympics -- and a new life.
In an unnamed Soviet state, six girls meet at the river each day to swim. When they find themselves representing their country as synchronized swimmers in the Olympics, they seize the chance they have been waiting for to escape and begin new lives away from the oppressive regime.
Scattered around the globe, six women live their lives in freedom. But will they ever be able to forget what they left behind?
A mesmerizing, multi-layered novella about freedom, women's choices, and the ties that bind us to our pasts.
Synopsis
An Indie Next Pick for August
The kind of book you could read in one sitting, one breath, or spread out over weeks of indulgent moments. --Maggie Henrikson, Carmichael's Bookstore
For a quick, inspiring read, pick up a copy of The Union of Synchronized Swimmers... Whether you consume this small translated tome in a single gulp or choose to savor it, sip by sip, you'll be exposed to some new ideas, ideals and even hope. --Linda Bond, Auntie's Bookstore
Vivid... Sandu's direct prose has impact.--Publishers Weekly
It's summer behind the Iron Curtain, and six girls are about to swim their way to the Olympics--and a new life.
In an unnamed Soviet state, six girls meet at the river each day to swim. When they find themselves representing their country as synchronized swimmers in the Olympics, they seize the chance they have been waiting for to escape and begin new lives away from the oppressive regime.
Scattered around the globe, six women live their lives in freedom. But will they ever be able to forget what they left behind?
A mesmerizing, multi-layered novella about freedom, women's choices, and the ties that bind us to our pasts.