I am not usually a fan of COVID-19 Literature, but I loved this novel. The vivid character descriptions and tender language alongside the difficult themes of grief, loss and suicide create a beautifully executed narrative. 2 s Sean Farrell190 2

Really loved this debut. Beautifully written, there are so many things to about this book it's difficult to know where to start. The characters are very well drawn, with each of them quickly defined within a few sentences of first meeting, and all of them ultimately sympathetic. The story itself is strong and ramps up thrillingly towards the end, dare I say it a brewing storm that then subsides to a very satisfying calm. There is real depth to the story as well, touching on some quite difficult themes, intelligently but with great control. Great book, highly recommended.1 Abbie Elizabeth79

4.5?? rounded up for the excellent prose and the beautiful simplicity of the story. ??1 Ciara Brereton1 review

Love love loved the beautiful scenic imagery and descriptions of people, story is unexpected and beautiful. 1 Diane DicksonAuthor 35 books89

What beautiful writing. The story was perhaps a little familiar but this was lifted miles above cliche status by the setting and the gorgeous prose. I loved this book. It is probably the best that I have read for absolutely ages. Fascinating characters, great scene setting and a fairly open but totally satisfying ending. 1 Will Thornton27

Prose was really lovely until the characters started talking in the most millennial dialogue ever. Also, I don't know if it's just me but this book was so sickeningly sweet - I absolutely hated all the stuff about the "strength of community" and how "the pandemic brought us all together", shut up that’s so fucking twee.1 Ross366

hELP what was that ending1 Peter O'Callaghan3

NIGHT SWIMMERS by Roisin Maguire
Reviewed by Peadar O’Callaghan
From the very first pages Maguire plunges the reader into depths of blue brine.
Though it is still only early spring you must tog-off and jump in to experience the full pleasure of Maguire’s prose from the start, which at times is as merciless as the sea and as foul-mouthed as a sailor’s. No matter age or gender preference you will envy the sea caressing the bodies of others and ask yourself “Why couldn’t it be me?”
The novel starts on the beach of a beautiful early spring sundrenched coastal community. Jaws drop as a strange sea-creature emerges within barking distance of yogi-bathers. But all is revealed as it comes ashore – definitely not male nor mermaid – maybe ‘tis an unpimpled Cailleach or Crone.
After reading Rosin Maguire’s ‘MENOPAUSE Perhaps I’m Broken. Perhaps I’m Fixed’ (The Irish Times, Weekend Review, Sat. Jan. 27,2024) I called to my bookshop in the city the following day to be told that for NIGHT SWIMMERS I’d have to wait a few days as it wouldn’t be published until St. Brigid’s Day – 1st Feb. Disappointed but undeterred I turned away from the counter, walked a few steps and saw a stack of six on a display-table (2 euro off). Wasn’t I lucky - I guess I’m one of the first in the world to read it.
Do we need reminding of Covid in another book? To re-visit a sanatised past! At least the cover is blue and white and not ‘those yellows and greys of the pandemic’ detested by Grace Kielty the novel’s protagonist.
Readers who emerged from SARS-Covid 19 with losses of loved ones and losses of taste and smell, will probably be shocked to be reminded again of the arrival (forewarned in the opening pages by occasional hints) of the sudden shock of shutdown brought about by the global pandemic. No community had immunity and you are in for a good seascape of its sickness in NIGHT SWIMMERS.
After the preamble and the protagonists are introduced, the story takes off in salty wind. Maguire herself states the theme in her The Irish Times: “My novel Night Swimmers began as a daydream, its protagonist Grace is the ideal older woman I would to become – savvy, smart, fearless and outspoken, in tune with the earth, her sexuality and her innate creativity.” But then she goes on to say: “the story didn’t turn out that way at all.” Sure, what else could she expect in a debut novel (after writing this I only then discovered that SISTER pub. 2021 was Maguire's first novel) but the arrival, the turn up of the ‘deaf’ miraculous child, the Puer Aeternus, beloved by Jungians “… an image of the Self, which literally weighs on the natural man and yet at the same time is the only thing that can save him.”* puts an end to that.
Luckily for the plot to develop, Evan, from Belfast, before arriving in Ballybrady seems not to have read Adrian Peace’s account of his time in coastal Ballyxxxxxx - ‘a different place altogether’ which he anonymized as Inveresk in ‘A World of Fine Difference’.* After reading this book I think many people from all over the world (and other places as well) will be searching the map for Ballybrady but they should be forewarned that it is averse to day-trippers, tourists and townies. I think Maguire’s manuscript chronicling the progress of the pandemic and its unforeseen consequence in a rural seaside town is itself a safe-place to visit, to pause a while on the long weekend of St. Bridget’s Bank-Holiday.
Maguire’s ‘biography’ of the Irish Cailleach will make up for the omission of this lady under ‘C’ and the only eleven lines given to BRIGET or BRIGIT in the 788 pages of H.G. Adams’ 1866 ‘Cyclopedia of Female Biography Consisting of Sketches of All women Who Have Been Distinguished by Great Talents, Strength of Character, Piety, Benevolence, or Moral Virtue of Any Kind, Forming a Complete Record of Womanly Excellence or Ability.’ (Robert Forrester, Stockwell, Glasgow)
Before leaving only my footprints on Grace’s beach and in fear of being blasted from “both barrels” by Rosin Maguire for treading on female domain I would to wave the white paper of my diploma in ‘ad Rebus ad Feminas Spectantibus’ of 1998 from UCC at her window and say - I’m not going to bin it yet. It is my early ‘prescription’- inoculation against the epidemic to be most feared: “… platitudes, and PC language with care in all our interactions … cyberbullying behind closed doors … hate crime under the cover of darkness.”
*Peace, Adrian, A World of Fine Difference, University College Dublin Press,2001
**von Franz, Marie-Louise, Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche, Shambhala, Boston & London, 1999.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Rachel213 1 follower

Very much enjoyed this. Grace was my fav character, someone who I would love to meet and spend time with. Evan moves to an Airbnb after a devastating event for a break. Then lock down arrives and he has to stay in the strange little village by the sea. Before he has a real chance to settle, his wife asks him to take their 8 year old son whilst she works through the pandemic. Luca is deaf and their relationship is strained. However, we see how the sea, the village, and the people who live there influence Evan and Luca. Maria Dirina3

Absolutely wonderful prose, so subtle, rich, holding you tight - so full, relatable, lively characters whom you feel you know so well as if they were living next door. I simply couldn’t stop reading. I haven’t read such quality prose in a while, absolutely marvellous - congratulations to the author, it’s a great debut. It’s only April, but this book will very ly be the book of the year for me.2024 fiction the-best-books Jackie Roos10

Loved it. Difficult topics, beautifully written. Easy to get lost in the story, great escapism.
The only reason I haven’t given it five stars is because there are a few things that needed explanations which has left me a little dissatisfied.

Regardless of that I am Hoping for more from this author. Highly recommend. Nadhirah397 24

3.5 stars.

Loved the writing and setting but as we moved into the climax I started finding the book very tiresome. It also veered into saccharine territory which made me round down my star rating. Not sure how I feel about how many times Grace saves Evan, literally and figuratively—it makes me grit my teeth, women feeling they need to "save" or "take care" of men with messy personal lives. Ruth Kilcullen1 review

I loved this warm hug of a story. It's beautifully atmospheric, with such a simple but rich setting - the escapism factor is high. Wonderful characters tenderly drawn, with wit and humour woven into the sadnesses of their lives. It's a hope-filled story. I loved it. Meredith93 1 follower

I really wanted to this book. The scenery and writing were lovely, but the romance at the end? Why?!?!

Why couldn’t they have just been friends and helped each other grow? The ending ruined it for me. :( This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Anna141 11

A gorgeous read with compelling characters. Covid provides part of the context for this story but does not overwhelm it..the characters and the story remain front and centre. There is some bleakness but also humour and redemption. Josh Collins17

This book felt a hug from a close friend. Although the plot wasn’t driven by a huge story the characters and environment created were visceral. Hope385 17

A story about love…

and sorrow and guilt and mourning and yearning and death and pain and the sea. And being where one is supposed to be. Grainne MacMahon100

I really enjoyed most of this book but as often happens, the writer had difficulty ending it. Worth reading Rebecca Jones111 1 follower

4.5 Ralf Papendick107

Eine kleine, leise Geschichte! Eine Geschichte über Verlust, Trauer, Vergebung und Freundschaft. Eine Liebeserklärung an das Meer. julie Fleming31 1 follower

Loved this book. Loving story telling and great characters. A real page Turner. Kevin Beale47

3.5fiction Ann52

Really enjoyed it,made me think and laugh out loud even though there were bits that were emotional. Even though Lockdown is mentioned it's not too in your face. Deborah Wilson3

Beautifully Written

A highly original, gorgeous gift of a book. Each and every word feels perfectly placed. The sort of book you savour every sentence, not wanting it to end. Harry Taylor8

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