Book description
Chemistry A boy and his grandfather try to cope with the arrival of a
new man in the household and his effect on the woman who is their mother
and daughter. The boy dreams of violence and the grandfather retreats to
the only sanctuary he knows. Learning to Swim On a beach in Cornwall,
the nuances and memories of a stagnant marriage are explored by a man, a
woman - and ultimately their son, as he finally learns to float in the
sea and strikes out for a more independent emotional life.
Graham Swift was born in 1949 and is the author of eight acclaimed
novels and a collection of short stories. With Waterland he won
the Guardian Fiction Prize (1983), and with Last Orders
the Booker Prize (1996). Both novels have since been made into films.
Graham Swift's work has appeared in over thirty languages.
