Thursday 17th June at 7
p.m. (Please RSVP to [email protected])
Meet Nicola Keegan as she presents and signs her
novel : Swimming
Swimming is the story of Pip’s journey
from a small Midwestern swim team to her first state meet, her
brutal professional training, and the final, record-breaking
swims that lead to her dizzying ascent to the Olympic podium in Barcelona. It’s the story of a girl
who discovers, in the loneliness of adolescence, in the family tragedies
that threaten to engulf her, the resilience of the human spirit
and the spectacular power of her own body.
PRAISE FOR SWIMMING (Nage Libre in French)
A ferociously original
novel, sparkling with wit and blazing with emotion, from a gifted new
novelist.
“The success of this
marvelous novel floats on that voice, ripe with adolescent wit and angst”. -- The Washington Post
“I loved Swimming. It’s the most original
novel I’ve read all year. I can’t get Pip’s voice out of my mind. Give yourself
a treat this summer—read this book.” —Judy Blume
“Keegan’s energy jumps off the page. . . . Swimming is
a wonderful coming-of-age story, a richly detailed account of a young woman
channeling her rage, grief and insecurity into a passion to win. The voice
Keegan has invented for Pip is sarcastic, thoughtful, elegant, irreverent.” —Diane White, The Boston Globe
“Keegan takes on death,
religion, relationships and coming-of-age in her gorgeously stylized and
irreverent debut about a rising Olympic swimming star. . . . Keegan's
linguistic playfulness moves the story at a fast clip. . . . This is worth
reading for the prose alone.” —Publishers Weekly
“A troubled child finds her natural element,
swimming her way to the Olympics, in this shimmering debut. Young Pip relays
her tale with such insight, you’ll feel you’re floating beside her.” —Good Housekeeping
“A fine debut novel about the making of a Olympic
champ.” —People
“Nicola Keegan’s sleek–as–a–porpoise debut
novel.” —Cathleen Medwick, O, The Oprah Magazine
“[A] stroke of genius.” —Daily Candy
PRAISE FOR NAGE
LIBRE
« C'est
un roman touffu et bruissant, fantastiquement drôle et
émouvant. Philoména est attachante au-delà des mots » - Cuneipage
« Nicola
Keegan suit la chronique d’une chute annoncée, en un roman de formation d’une
densité rare, un portrait de femme proprement hallucinant. Elle transmet la
voix intérieure de Pip, hors du commun, entre naïveté, acuité et causticité et
compose un texte sidérant, hypnotique, unique » - Mediapart
See interview with Nicola.
WH Smith Paris - 248 rue de Rivoli - 75001
Paris - M° Concorde
