Learning to Swim and Other Stories

Swift, Graham

ISBN 10: 0671546139 / ISBN 13: 9780671546137

Published by Poseidon Press, New York, NY, 1982

About this Item

New York, NY, Poseidon Press, 1982. First edition. 8vo. Light gray cloth over dark gray boards, with dark gray lettering on spine, matching dark gray endpapers, pictorial dust jacket, 189 pp. Graham Swift writes movingly of the enclosed worlds in which we confine our lives, of hotel rooms and marriage beds of claustrophobic relationships, of ghosts from the past which hold the present and future hostage and he also presents the hopeful images of escape and redemption. Wrinkle on back of dust jacket, but this is a new, unread book, in near fine dust jacket, protected by a mylar cover.

Seller Inventory # EM-B1199-12

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Learning to Swim and Other Stories
• Publisher: Poseidon Press, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671546139
• ISBN 13: 9780671546137
• Binding: Quarter Cloth
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature and Fiction
  • Rare Literature and Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

‘An admirable collection. Each story has its subtle nuances of narrative and language which established a quite distinct character. A most impressive work of fiction’ The Times

Graham Swift’s taut prose style, natural gift for characterization and tight grasp of the details and complexities of real life combine beautifully in these concentrated and enigmatic stories to offer an incisive exposé of the illusion, subterfuge and enigma of everyday interaction.

Focusing on the combative relationships between men and women – between a mismatched couple; an ageing doctor and his hypochondriacal patient; a teenage refugee swept up in the conflict of an oppressively sentimental father and his rebellious son – these spare, Kafkaesque stories are a microcosm for all human cruelty and need.

‘Graham Swift . . . has a wide range; he can be delicately sensitive or outrageously funny. He is a born storyteller’ Daily Telegraph

‘He has style and he has range, and quiet strengths that are continuously and effortlessly displayed. Graham Swift should be read by everyone with an interest in the art of the short story’ Evening Standard

Book Description

Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14–18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread.