Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

Book Review: Florence Adler Swims Forever

This is Rachel Beanland’s debut novel, which I found to be really unique. It is well-written and interesting, but also very, very different. The book is centered around the drowning of young Florence Adler, and the impact she has had on each of the main character’s lives. Each chapter focuses on one of the main characters and the shift between them makes the novel more enticing for the reader. 

There are various themes throughout the book, including love, family loyalty, and the hardships of immigration in the 1930s.

Florence’s death occurs in the first few pages and from that point on the main plot focuses on the Jewish family’s struggles of concealing their daughter’s drowning. Florence’s older sister, Fannie, is pregnant in the hospital, and her parents want to keep the death of Florence a secret, in hopes of preventing Fannie from having a miscarriage. Meanwhile, the secondary plot focuses on Florence’s swim coach, Stuart, and Anna, a guest staying with the Adler’s, who recently left Germany to attend college in the United States. The hardships of immigration and being Jewish in the 1930s is illustrated, as Anna struggles to help her parents come over to the United States. 

Overall, this book was interesting. I’ve never read anything like it — it shows the great lengths a person will go to protect their family. At points the plot was rather slow, but then it would pick up. Even though I wouldn’t read this novel more than once, it still wasn’t bad. If you’re interested in reading this book, I’d recommend picking up a copy at your local library!