Florence Adler Swims Forever: A Novel

I got a lot of enjoyment from this book. I've been having trouble getting into a good book since the pandemic started and Florence Adler Swims Forever turned that all around. The story is told in several voices and I tend to like that structure in a novel. There is Florence, the golden Wellesley girl who lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She is set to swim the English Channel with the help of her WASP boyfriend who is also her coach. Unfortunately she drowns at the very beginning of the novel. From here, the novel is told from the vantage point of those close to Florence - her mother and father, her sister, her boyfriend, her grandparents, a summer visitor, and her niece. Everyone knows a different Florence and we, the readers, put her together after he death with out own vision and our own sculpting. In a sense, Florence is our creation and this novel creatively points out that all of what we see and know is manipulated and created through our personal and unique vision. I saw a woman who was strong, smart and sassy, ahead of her time just prior to WWII. Though Jewish and a part of the Jewish community, she has already been exposed to a more worldly living style. Wellesley is an all female school and was known for having quotas on Jewish students for many years. Florence must have exceeded all expectations to get into that school. Additionally, there is the hint, just a brief shadowing of the possibility that Florence might be gay. This is only whispered at because at that time, almost everyone was closeted. The narrative is welcoming, easy to access and a delight to read.

Sometimes-if you are lucky-a book sneaks into the room like a cherished friend, taps you on the shoulder, and wraps its arms around your heart as you cry tears of happiness and of sadness; the hug lingers and no one is eager to let go. That book for me was Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. Set in the 1930's, the title centers on confident and spirited Florence Adler who has been training to swim the English Channel, inspired by Trudy Ederle's recent successful efforts. She has come home from Wellesley for the summer, eager to finalize training when the unthinkable happens: Florence drowns off the beach in Atlantic City, reasons unknown, on a routine sunny afternoon as her family bears witness to the horror. The tragedy profoundly affects those closest to her: her parents, Joseph and Esther, as they must accept the unimaginable and mourn within their Jewish faith, her dazed brother-in-law, Isaac, who questions his life path, her swim coach Stuart who was in love with Florence, their summer guest Anna who struggles to find her footing in the disruption of the household, and her 7 year old niece Gussie who can't comprehend that her beloved aunt is truly gone. However before they can entertain their tidal wave of grief, Esther realizes that they must at all costs keep Florence's death from her sister, Fannie. Fannie is currently hospitalized as a precaution until she delivers her baby. She recently delivered a son who failed to live and became crippled by the subsequent depression. Her family realizes that the truth must be kept from Fannie to avoid any further tragedy. How can they possibly contain the news and pull off this elaborate ruse? Very, very carefully. Joseph and Esther realize that for the love of their children, there is nothing that they wouldn't do to spare them pain and secure their happiness. For everyone who loved Florence, their grief must become the most carefully guarded secret of their lives. The novel explores larger themes of discrimination and prejudice, but the beating heart of this novel is the strength of family, the non-linear path of grief, and the transformative power of love. Don't miss this dazzling debut!

I spent 30 years of my life in Atlantic City. This book captures the 30's in Atlantic City that my grandparents described when the hotels were being built on the ATLANTIC ocean, jews moved into the inlet end of the island, into a tight community of conservative Judaism, familiar origins, family secrets, and fears buffeted by new individual prosperity. The writer is gifted in telling a story from the initial scene where the main character dies and then plotting backward to what that death did to the family, in a world the early Nazis where Jews fled and emigrated to cities like Atlantic City, finding anti-Semitism in what they thought would be their river of Jordan. It is the tale of a family who must hide the death from a family member through most of the book, twisting the family already battered by an inconceivable death. . The charters are drawn so well- the family ties that keep them together and support facing barriers to love from religion and a hint of lesbianism -. It is seeing the slow change in society in pre-world war 2 America, on a barrier island where the ocean itself is an evil character. . I loved the book

The best character in the book dies in the first chapter. The rest of the story goes quite slowly from there. Its not a page turner but it kept me interested. Most of the characters were a bit one dimensional. The exception was Gussie, a young girl who is caught up in the family chaos. There were some moments of tension but nothing overly dramatic and no crazy twists at the end. I very much liked the author's note at the end. It made reading the book worthwhile.

I appreciate times when I can pick up a book and there is an emotional component with depth to connect with. I enjoyed the interwoven Jewish Culture; the well sketched characters and relationships; the secrets and dilemmas with their ensuing tensions; the Atlantic City backdrop and the Pre WWII storm. A loving, wonderfully woven story.

Florence was a swimmer who lived on the New Jersey Shore summers. Her swimming coach Stuart was in love with her. Florence was going to swim the English Channel. That was her life. That and women. Florence 's sister Fannie was seven year's older and had a daughter Gussie who was 6. She lost a baby boy right after delivery. Then when Gussie we seven she had a baby girl. Joseph Adler had a relationship in Germany with a woman named Inez. She was engaged to Joseph but Joseph back to America and met Esther. Inez met and married someone else and had a daughter Anna. She had to leave Germany because of the war and the Nazis taking over. Joseph sponsored her and was trying to get her parents over as well. The names have been changed but it is based on a true story and are related to the author. Kudos to the author. A great story and I highly recommend this book.

FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER opens with a tragedy that takes place in Atlantic City in the summer of 1934. the book tells the story of how this one family grieves their loss while also keeping several secrets in order to protect other members of the family. the entire book is beautifully written, but the writing on loss, love, and parenting throughout the book is particularly heartfelt and well-done (I cried several times throughout the book). the story is both compelling and enjoyable, but there’s enough substance and depth in the book to strike the perfect balance. also worth noting is that the book is based on an incident which happened in the author’s own family. 5/5⭐️—I loved it!

I ordered this book without reading any reviews or comments and was surprised to find it was an historical novel set in New Jersey in 1934. Turned out to be a very nice surprise! This is the story of how a family copes with the tragic drowning death of their youngest daughter who was training to swim the English Channel, and told from the perspective of each of the main characters. Loved the insight into a traditional Jewish family and the prejudices rampant at this time in history just before the outbreak of WWII. I always wondered why more Jewish people didn't just leave Germany (and other countries in Europe) and come to the United States before the war started. Learning about the severe restrictions in allowing travel to the US was really an eyeopener. Secrets are a main theme of the book and how devastating they can be. This is a gentle book exploring deep feelings and family loyalty. I did not rate it 5 stars only because I was disappointed in the ending. Given the importance of secrets I felt the main secret was not dealt with at the end. I read this in one day and wished the book had not ended so soon.