Swimming in the Dark
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Reviewer tools: Inform author |
Tomasz Jędrowski | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English, Polish |
| Education | Cambridge University University of Paris |
| Period | Present |
| Genre | Gay literature |
| Notable works | Swimming in the Dark |
Tomasz Jedrowski (born 1985) is a Polish author.[1] His debut novel, Swimming in the Dark, a gay love story set in the Polish People's Republic, was the subject of a "hotly contested publishing auction".[2]
Early life
Tomasz Jedrowski’s parents migrated from Polish People's Republic to western Germany when the short-lived Solidarity trade union movement was suppressed by the Polish Communist Party. Born in Germany, Jedrowski earned a law degree at Cambridge, attended the University of Paris, and now is based in Poland surveying national identity and fashion.[3]
Career
Jedrowski writes in English, which he attributed to English not having been "imposed on me. It’s not something that I happened to be born into. It's just something I enjoyed from the very start, and I don’t feel like it's my parents speaking through me when I'm writing in English, because we never spoke in English".[4] His debut novel Swimming in the Dark was the object of a six-way auction won by Bloomsbury for the UK qnd Commonwealth and William Morrow for North America, the latter part of a six-figure contract.[5]
Jedrowski cites Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin as a major influence in this writing, and Baldwin's novel plays a pivotal role in the novel, when the young protagonist Ludwik lends his copy to a stranger named Januszto. The two begin an intense sexual affair which plays out later in Warsaw in the 1980s during trade union agitation and a government crackdown.[6]
Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review and described the work as a "dazzling debut charts an evocative sexual awakening and coming of age amid political unease in early 1980s Poland".[7]
Bibliography
- Swimming in the Dark: A Novel. William Morrow (April 2020) ISBN 978-0062890009[8] Published simultaneously in Polish as Płynąc w ciemnościach OsnoVa (2020).
References
- ^ Nogaś, Michał. "Tomasz Jędrowski: Myślałem o sobie jako o dziecku z chorymi pragnieniami. Czułem, że jestem zepsuty". WysokieObcasy.pl. Wydawnictwo Agora. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Field, Marcus. "Book review: Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski". Evening Standard. No. 13 February 2020. Evening Standard Ltd. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Taras, Ray. "Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski". World Literature Today. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Juzwiak, Rich. "Swimming in the Dark Captures Love and Rebellion Among Men in 1980s Poland". Jezebel. G/O Media. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Friedman, Blake. "Tomasz Jedrowski's "Swimming In the Dark" Sold In a Six-Way Auction In UK and For a Six-Figure Deal In the US". BlakeFriendman.co.uk. Blake Friedmann Literary Agency Ltd. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Bollen, Christopher (21 February 2020). "The Author Tomasz Jedrowski Keeps Coming Back to Giovanni's Room". Interview Magazine. Crystal Ball Media. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Swimming in the Dark". Publishers Weekly. Publishers Weekly. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "April 2020 Releases". Publishers Marketplace. PublishersLunch. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
External links
Category:Polish male writers Category:Gay writers Category:LGBT novelists Category:Cambridge University alumni Category:University of Paris alumni