The Long Swim

A runaway circus lion haunts a small town where two lovers risk more than their respective marriages. A junket to Cuba and an ambassadors dalliance with a niece hide dark secrets and political revolution. Ive always had a knife, says the unstable stepson to his parents. Inventive, dark, and absurd, the stories in The Long Swim capture Terese Svobodas clear-eyed, wry angle on the world: a place of violence and uncertainty but also wild beauty, adventure, and love both lasting and ephemeral. Her characters strive for escapethrough romance, travel, or more self-destructive pursuitsand collide with the constraints of family and home, their longing for freedom and autonomy often at odds with the desire for safety and harmony.

Cynical, irreverent, and formally daring, Svobodas stories in The Long Swim are a deft exploration of womanhood and humanity. Waves of provocation and wonder toss the reader and leave them wanting more.

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