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The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle

The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle 2

by Sophie Green
Paperback
Publication Date: 23/07/2019
5/5 Rating 2 Reviews

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$29.99

The author of treasured Australian bestseller, The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club, returns with a new novel perfect for your book club

It's the summer of 1982. The Man From Snowy River is a box office hit and Paul Hogan is on the TV.

In a seaside suburb of NSW, housewife Theresa Howard takes up swimming. She wants to get fit; she also wants a few precious minutes to herself. So at sunrise each day she strikes out past the waves.

From the same beach, the widowed Marie swims. With her husband gone, bathing is the one constant in her new life.

After finding herself in a desperate situation, 25-year-old Leanne only has herself to rely on. She became a nurse to help others, even as she resists help herself.

Elaine has recently moved from England. Far from home without her adult sons, her closest friend is a gin bottle.

In the waters of Shelly Bay, these four women find each other. They will survive shark sightings, bluebottle stings and heartbreak; they will laugh so hard they swallow water, and they will plunge their tears into the ocean's salt. They will find solace and companionship in their friendship circle, and learn that love takes many forms.

ISBN:
9780733641169
9780733641169
Category:
Contemporary fiction
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
23-07-2019
Publisher:
Hachette Australia
Country of origin:
Australia
Dimensions (mm):
235x155x29mm
Weight:
0.3kg
Sophie Green

Sophie Green is an author and publisher who lives in Sydney. She has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some under other names. In her spare time she writes about country music on her website, Sunburnt Country Music. She has been practising yoga since 1993 and teaching since 2002. Sophie's debut novel, THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB, was a Top Ten bestseller and was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards for General Fiction Book of the Year 2018, and longlisted for both the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018 and the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction 2018.

Sophie Green is internationally published and THE SHELLY BAY LADIES SWIMMING CIRCLE, THURSDAYS AT ORANGE BLOSSOM HOUSE and THE BELLBIRD RIVER COUNTRY CHOIR were also Top Ten bestsellers.

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2 Reviews

One of the best books I have read in a long time.loved the friend ship between the ladies,really a great read

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“In the past she's never had reason to contemplate the idea that families aren't necessarily made from blood. Now she knows that the family you create, voluntarily, can bring joy instead of pain, and support and love and strength.”

The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle is the second novel by Australian publisher and author, Sophie Green. Even if her husband has mentioned her weight more that once recently, that’s absolutely not the reason that Theresa Howard is planning a daily ocean swim. Improved fitness would be a welcome side-effect, but the real attraction of a sunrise swim at Shelly Bay is the chance of time to herself in her constantly busy day.

Marie has been swimming at sunrise in Shelly Bay for most of her life. But since Norm died and her best friend Gwen moved to a Retirement Village some distance away, it’s just her and her dog, Charlie Brown, in the sandstone cottage. And Marie’s not sure for how much longer she can manage that…

Originally from Devon, Elaine Schaeffer has accompanied her Australian husband (a heart surgeon, no less!) back to Australia. His demanding profession has James out until late, and the isolation Elaine feels is understandable: she has left behind her successful interior decorating business and the status that gave her, her adult sons, her ageing parents and her friends. She knows her increasing reliance on gin and tonic is not the answer but, after an earlier rejection at tennis, is hesitant to join the ladies swimming in Shelly Bay every sunrise.

Leanne loves her job on the paediatric ward at the Northern Hospital. Making her young patients feel safe and comfortable and cared for is all she wants to do. She doesn’t mind living alone in a tiny flat, having decided years before that trusting adults is fraught with danger. But the women in Shelly Bay are difficult to resist.

Whether for the sake of convenience, or by invitation, these four very different women eventually find themselves in the water together. As swimmers, some are experienced, strong and confident; others, novices or still a bit tentative; but soon it doesn't matter. Soon, it's a routine they hate to miss.

“They part each day knowing that they can take the morning with them, and tomorrow they'll be here again to repeat the actions but have a different experience. Each day is precious, new. Each morning is alive with vigour and a certain rapture.” As they negotiate life’s challenges, and there are several, they discover that these women provide more than company.

Green easily captures the feel of an Australian seaside suburb in the 1980s: the current affairs, dialogue and community attitudes are all redolent of the era. Green’s protagonists are so very relatable: human for all their flaws and filled with good intentions: “She walks slowly so that Elaine can accompany Marie into the surf, her earlier disappointment put aside. It's been lovely - a privilege - having Marie to herself but she's really too special to hoard.” And while her male characters may not be perfect, we all need a Matt or a James or a Gus in our lives, and we'd all like to throttle an Andrew or Trev or at least read them the riot act.

Green forces these women to deal with more than just bluebottles, jellyfish, seaweed and dumpers: if a neglected garden, ageing and a car accident seem minor, then grief, loneliness, infidelity, alcoholism, first love, past traumas, family reconciliation, mature-age love, cancer and surgery are certainly less so. They share lots of laughter, but also tears. Above all, though, these four women share the deep love that comes from abiding friendship.

Green has a marvellous turn-of-phrase, and it’s difficult to resist including many quotes: “He sees her problems through the prism of his experience” and “It's what they're used to, after all: being alone together in the water, each woman inside her own head. The comfort of wordless company that understands you implicitly” and “She has, on occasion, wondered if Gerard's not really an alcoholic but rather an actor paid to run these meetings. He seems to know just which expressions to use to get the outcome he wants” are examples.

It’s probably a close thing, but Green’s latest novel is even better than The Fairvale Ladies. Moving, heart-warming and uplifting, this is another brilliant read.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Hachette Australia.

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