Swimming Toward the Ocean

By Carole L. Glickfeld

Book Overview

Nineteen fifty-three, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Chenia Arnow is a petite, sensuous Betty Grable look-alike, a Russian emigre whose Old World fear of the Evil Eye and heavily accented English cannot... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375408924
• ISBN13: 9780375408922
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 387 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Truly 5 Star Read!

This is absolutely one of the best books I have read in a long time. The book sucked me in from the first page. I was taken into Chenia's life and wasn't let go till the last page. I found it quite unique that her story was told by her daughter Devorah. The last child and the one that Chenia tried so hard to do away with. Chenia felt her life was over and the thought of another child was just too much to bear. Little did she know how this child would take her on a journey that would help to make Chenia's life her own. This is truly a rich and fulfilling novel about life in new jersey and new york in the 1950's.

Swimming Toward Life, Learning, & Love

We meet Chenia, a young Jewish Russian immigrant, living in Brooklyn in the early '50s. And, we learn about Chenia's despair through the eyes of her yet-unborn daughter, Devorah. Chenia, barely making ends meet caring for her husband, Ruben, and two children, is pregnant. Though she tries all the old wives' tales she knows to abort the unborn child, her pregnancy continues and Devorah is born. This is not a story of sadness and grief. It is the BEST book I have read that captures human longing, learning, and loving through the spirit of the Jewish immigrant story. Most of all, it is a story we can relate to as women. We get to know Chenia as a woman growing to like herself and feel comfortable in her new land. As readers, we are priviledged to be with Chenia as she emerges from the past, including the ever-present evil-eye, and becomes one with her new reality. Come to know Chenia as she returns time and time again to gaze at the ocean and tong for comfort in the arms of the "man with the fedora hat."Don't miss this one. You'll feel like you know these people. You won't want to leave them. Carole Glickfeld is an author to watch and welcome into our hearts.

Unforgettable and Utterly Compelling

I have been a fan of Carole Glickfeld's for some time now. When I discovered that Swimming Toward the Ocean was to be published in eight long months, it was all that I could do to prevent myself from calling up the bookstores and demanding that they push up their deadlines. I had already read Carole Glickfeld's first book of short stories, Useful Gifts, and could not wait to read something else by this gifted and talented author. The day I purchased Carole Glickfeld's novel, I read the first few pages while standing near the checkout counter and from that point on I could not put it down. Carole Glickfeld is so wise. I am so emotionally attached to her characters. I want to meet them on the street. I have questions for them. I love them. My mother also sailed through Swimming Toward the Ocean. On the phone she said, "Oh, Chenia-what a character...and she loved her children so much." We spoke about the intricate lives of Chenia and her family for what could only have been more than an hour, and once I had hung up the phone, my husband asked, "Who were you talking about?" "Chenia," I responded. "Do I know Chenia?" he asked. "No," I answered and pointed to Carole Glickfeld's book. It's a hardback, the type of book one treasures.Let me tell you a little bit about Chenia, but not too much! Chenia is a Russian immigrant who is pregnant with her third child when the novel opens. Although she is married, Chenia has never experienced a loving relationship with her husband. What follows is a comical, intricate and unique description of Chenia's process of self-discovery, as told through the omniscient eyes of her youngest child. Chenia's unique personality is enhanced by the fact that her English is often spoken in a foreign syntax and peppered with Yiddish words throughout the novel. It is in this colorful manner that we are introduced to Brighton Beach, the Atlantic Ocean, the cloisters of Manhattan, the shoe store salesman, the opera, the underbelly of the Coney Island boardwalk, a factory fire, and the infidelities of a marriage. Chenia's fear of the evil eye, her superior wit and intelligence, her likeable and humane spirit, and her vivid sensuality and passion along with her compelling story make this a must read for men and women alike. I guarantee that you will cancel plans to finish Carole Glickfeld's novel and when you have read from cover to cover, you will mourn the loss of Chenia's world, considering her a dear and important friend.

Wonderful characters; moving story

I really cannot imagine someone reading the incredibly intriguing first few scenes of this book-a woman's account of her mother's attempts to abort her-- and choosing to set it aside. Jewish-Russian immigrant Chenia Arnow is a fascinating and vivid character-the type who leaves an imprint in memory as sharp and clear as any person I've met. And the narration by daughter Devorah was a brilliant and daring choice. It is handled with such absolute authority that it causes no confusion, and what the reader gains is a steady and powerful insight into how Chenia's struggles and regrets as mother, wife and mistress must have shaped Devorah's character and life. Glickfeld clearly deserves the acclaim she is receiving. I look forward to her next book.

Spare and moving

Swimming Toward the Ocean is that rare book that combines spare, evocative writing with a story so original that I could not wait each night to curl up with my book to see how Chenia, the main character, was faring. Every woman will identify with this lovely, overwhelmed immigrant, whose struggles with life, love, failures and the challenge of an unwanted child are stunning in their clarity. Carole Glickfeld deserves all the accolades she has been receiving. We have never met a character quite like Chenia, and for that alone, this book should be a must-read.