Overview

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.

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9781950354399

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Reviews

Cristina Sandu's narration is magical...Her poetic and airy prose weaves together the strongly metaphorical and the realistic...In these moving stories about the fates of Eastern European women, her narrative is universal and titanic. --Suomen Kuvalehti

Cristina Sandu's spare and sparkling prose is intimate and visceral. A deeply moving story about six women who dare to dream bigger than their muddy river, whose lives splinter from their tight synchronized formations into an unflinching, often unforgiving world. An exquisite and powerful read. --Lindsay Zier-Vogel, author of Letters to Amelia With structural, determined prose, Cristina Sandu embodies the Eastern bloc cryptology of storytelling where strings of non-verbal cues and mistranslations become ways of speaking. Sandu evokes that eerie Soviet sense of hope, brimming with futility and grace. --Yelena Moskovich, author of The Natashas Skilfully crafted and defined, airy, and multi-layered. Highly praised for the themes of detachment as well as the description of externality and differentness. A work greater than its size gives a chance to pause, feel, and reflect on what one has read. --Toisinkoinen Literary Prize Jury 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

Author Information

Cristina Sandu was born in 1989 in Helsinki to a Finnish-Romanian family who loved books. She studied literature at the University of Helsinki and the University of Edinburgh, and speaks six languages. She currently lives in the UK and works as a full-time writer. Her debut novel, The Whale Called Goliath (2017), was nominated for the Finlandia Prize. The Union of Synchronised Swimmers won the Toisinkoinen Literary Prize and will be her first book to be published in English. Cristina Sandu was born in 1989 in Helsinki to a Finnish-Romanian family who loved books. She studied literature at the University of Helsinki and the University of Edinburgh, and speaks six languages. She currently lives in the UK and works as a full-time writer. Her debut novel, The Whale Called Goliath (2017), was nominated for the Finlandia Prize. The Union of Synchronised Swimmers won the Toisinkoinen Literary Prize and will be her first book to be published in English.

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