“The perfect summer read” (USA TODAY) begins with a shocking tragedy that results in three generations of the Adler family grappling with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets over the course of one summer. *A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice * One of USA TODAY’s “Best Books of 2020” * One of Good Morning America’s “25 Novels You’ll Want to Read This Summer” * One of … “25 Novels You’ll Want to Read This Summer” * One of Parade’s “26 Best Books to Read This Summer”
Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers escaping to “America’s Playground” and move into the small apartment above their bakery. Despite the cramped quarters, this is the apartment where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence, and it always feels like home.
Now, Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams.
Esther only wants to keep her daughters close and safe but some matters are beyond her control: there’s Fannie’s risky pregnancy–not to mention her always-scheming husband, Isaac–and the fact that the handsome heir of a hotel notorious for its anti-Semitic policies, seems to be in love with Florence.
When tragedy strikes, Esther makes the shocking decision to hide the truth–at least until Fannie’s baby is born–and pulls the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, bringing long-buried tensions to the surface that reveal how quickly the act of protecting those we love can turn into betrayal.
“Readers of Emma Straub and Curtis Sittenfeld will devour this richly drawn debut family saga” (Library Journal) that’s based on a true story and is a breathtaking portrayal of how the human spirit can endure–and even thrive–after tragedy.
more
Florence Adler Swims Forever is a wonderful, based on a true- story, about Florence, who is determined to swim the English Channel and her Jewish family’s life set in Atlantic City in the 1920- 30s. If you enjoy reading about that era and Atlantic City, the beach and ocean, then you will enjoy this story. The author draws you in by making you feel like you are in the story living through the characters eyes and hearts. Florence trains every minute she can to swim the channel, her older sister Fannie is pregnant and her father’s past all come together in this beautifully written story about love, determination, loss and acceptance. This might be a book that I would reread it is that good. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
5 stars
This is the book I have been looking for! A true family saga based on a true story of Esther and Joseph Adler and their two daughters, Florence and Fannie. This novel takes place in 1934 Atlantic City. During the summer the Adlers rent their house and move back into their small apartment above their shop. Florence is home from college and is in training to swim the English Channel. Fannie, married to Isaac, lost her first baby and is pregnant again Added to the mix, Joseph takes in a young woman from Nazi Germany. Soon after the book begins, there is a tragedy. Rachel Beanland’s debut novel is so poignant. The character development is amazing. This novel deserves and commands the reader’s attention. It is a book that will stick with me and will be read again this winter. Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland is not the book I expected based on its description. I won’t spoil why but it’s actually a good thing – the surprising twist that comes early in the book sets the stage for a compelling and rich family saga.
Based on the true story of the author’s family, the novel is set during the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City (aka “the Jewish Riviera”) and told from alternating POVs including various members of the Adler family, the young German woman they’ve taken in, and a family friend. Their lives are all affected by a tragedy that befalls the family, whether they know it or not, and as the description notes, the book “explores how far we will go in order to protect our loved ones.” It also addresses many social issues of the time, from the role of women to the prejudice Jews experienced in the U.S. as well as the persecution they were under in Europe. There are aspects of the plot that felt implausible, but when you read the author’s note at the end and realize they really happened, you can’t help but be amazed at the strength it took for her family to persevere.
Despite being a different story than I was anticipating, I truly enjoyed this book and the characters in it. It’s a quiet, character-driven novel with a lot of heart, and a work of historical fiction that feels fresh. Each of the Adlers stole a piece of my heart and Beanland’s love for her family comes through in the wonderful world, story and characters she created.
Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for an advanced copy of this book.
So charming! I enjoyed the time period, immersive setting, sympathetic characters & especially Gussie. A touching family drama & one of my favorite reads this year.
I loved this book. Based on the author’s family history, it’s the story of an aspiring swimmer and how her drowning in the Atlantic changes the family dynamic. Set in 1934, the book also deals with the struggle for Jews to find escape to America from Hitler’s Germany.
The books was clever and well-written. An impressive debut from Rachel Beanland.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of Florence Adler Swims Forever.
I enjoyed this novel which is based on a real person, although much of the family story is fictionalized. I appreciated the historical portions of this novel and focus on the events of the time: the rise of the Third Reich, the Great Depression, the birth of the Dionne quintuplets, concerns over intermarriage between religions.
It is the summer of 1934 and Florence has her heart set on swimming the English Channel. Florence trains off Atlantic City NJ in the ocean. Her older sister, Fannie is in the hospital with a high-risk pregnancy. When Florence dies while on a training swim, her mother makes the decision not to tell Fannie until after the baby is born, as to not endanger the pregnancy. There is a secondary story discussing the plight of Jews trying to flee Europe, so the daughter of a former flame of Florence’s father is staying with the family for the summer, causing tension between Florence’s parents. Anna (immigrant) is worried about how to get her parents to the US. Anna and Florence’s swim coach, Stuart, start seeing each other. Finally, there is another story surrounding Fannie’s husband, Isaac, and his financial issues. Their daughter, Gussie, 9, is trying to understand all of the family dynamics.
This story relates the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones.
#FlorenceAdlerSwimsForever #NetGalley
At first I didn’t think I was going to like this book, but the more I read the more I loved the characters. There are many layers to the story. It is the story of a daughter lost, a daughter protected, a test of marriages, a girl rescued from Germany as Hitler takes power and the impact her presence has on a family, a young girl trying to find her place in an adult world, and the question – what would you do to help and protect the ones you love?
The characters are memorable and well developed. The story’s plot line is contained to a summer, but open-ended enough to let you imagine life beyond then. The setting of a NJ beach town plays an important role. The ocean is a constant and demonstrates how life events come in waves that can knock us down or carry us forward. A truly well written book!
This book is great for a book club discussion. The setting is Atlantic City, just before World War II. At the beginning of the book, Florence drowns. Her parents decide to keep her death a secret from her sister Fannie who is in the hospital due to a high-risk pregnancy. While women today would be appalled by the nerve of Fannie’s parents making such a decision, their behavior was totally acceptable in that time period.
This decision will impact three generations of the Adler family. A story of tragedy, grief, heartache, deception, family secrets, and tension, it is sure to touch your heart. The author did a superb job of giving us a peek into the life of a Jewish American family dealing with anti-Semitism and the danger that lurks across the ocean as Hitler contrives to exterminate the European Jews.
The author also masterfully tells the story from the perspective of several different characters. I had no problem following any of the story and appreciated that I was able to know what each of those characters was thinking and feeling and what secrets they were hiding. It took a while for me to warm up to the characters, but once I did, I was able to embrace them and care about them. It was worth the wait. Fannie’s seven-year-old daughter Gussie is probably the most perceptive character in the book.
I loved this novel set in the beautifully realized Jewish community of Atlantic City in the 1930s. Especially recommend if you like reading about mothers and daughters.
Good story with mostly believable characters. Wish there had been an epilogue.
Good story but with so much detail about religious traditions that it slowed the story. Well written with well-drawn characters.
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland is a complex family drama that you can’t even tell is a debut. I loved Beanland’s writing style, and the fact that this book is based on a true story made it even more memorable. I highly recommend making sure you read the author’s note at the back since it was very helpful and moving.
This book is told from many different viewpoints and I really liked every single one of them. The pacing is slower, but thanks to the multiple POVs I felt like it moved pretty quickly. Florence Adler Swims Forever is easily the type of novel that could provide you with a book hangover, and I just love how Beanland’s imagery and storytelling made me feel like I was right THERE. It also really opened my eyes to what it was like to be a Jew in this time period.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and if you are a fan of the genre I would definitely recommend reading this. Not only is it based on a true story, but it also felt very informative. I loved the setting, the writing, and most of the characters, plus I even loved the ending. It is clear to me that Beanland is incredibly talented and I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
This was a great read, I wasn’t expecting this emotional ride but I love it, I did enjoy every page and every dialog between characters.
Florence Adler Swims Forever it’s the story of a swimmer who had a very tragic accident, her family doesn’t know how to handle this situation as there are many things at stake if the news travel far and reach the ear of Fanni everything could be terrible not only a life, it’s a stake but also the whole family who is walking on the verge of a disaster.
Esther is doing everything she can to maintain her family together, but life and situations keep making this almost impossible, many of the family members have a lot of stuff to hide and are not even willing to keep these lies. Esther was a complicated character at least that’s how I felt, at times I felt like she was very cold and she was only following her traditions but not her heart, that change so drastically at the end of the novel, when I finally understood why Esther kept showing as a cold mother and character.
Joseph somehow was the glue that kept them all together, he was kind and very reasonable always, he was the one who balanced the chaos especially when Esther was immersed in her own mind and decisions. He also had a story, a past that will not make any easier the situation at home especially with Esther, but sooner or later things will stay in place for them to be able to keep growing and surviving this life.
a lot of great characters made this book and story possible, Issac was a very quiet man, he was very insecure and at all times he felt like he didn’t belong in the Adlers family. Gussie, Anna, Stuart all of them were having a difficult time understanding Esther’s decisions but still, they were always supporting the family and each other, they only wanted to have a normal life but situations and scenarios were making that impossible for all of them.
Florence Adler Swims Forever it’s a real story, heartbreaking, heart-swelling but must of all it is a story of a family surviving a tragedy and trying to hold all of its members and pieces together.
Be ready to have your emotions all over the place, to cry, to feel, and to enjoy this amazing story.
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. How much to tell? How much will spoil the story? Florence Adler lived to swim. It was the summer she was twenty and soon she would sail to France to finish up her training, which would culminate with her swimming the English Channel. Everyone she knew was confident she could do it. Her parents didn’t understand her need, but her father, at least, supported her in her quest. It was 1934, Atlantic City. A day like any other day when Florence tucked her hair under her red swim cap and ventured out into the ocean for a swim. When she returned, it was lifeguards who brought her … lifeguards who labored to save her life … lifeguards who had to let her go. This story is about all the people around her, her family mostly, and what their lives were like after losing her.
Written from multiple points of view, eventually we learn the secrets of all those who loved Florence, and some who did not. It is a compelling story, based loosely on real life and totally reveals secrets, which must be kept, and some that shouldn’t have been kept. Some characters are at their best, and some at their worst. Hard to describe without giving up secrets prematurely. The story was interesting and understandable. It was a terrible time in history with Hitler coming to power and atrocities just beginning. A time, when even in the United States, prejudice was rampant, on both sides of the situation. Beanland did these people justice, making them both lovable and despicable. It wasn’t always easy to know for whom to cheer, but it all worked out, I guess. An enjoyable read. I recommend it.
I was invited to read an ARC of Florence Adler Swims Forever by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #florenceadlerswimsforever
Rachel Beanland’s debut novel is a character driven, three generation family saga which tells the story of what happens to the Adler family over the course of the summer of 1934. Set in Atlantic City, the author captures the physical setting and time period well.
Joseph and Esther Adler have rented their home to vacationers for the summer and are staying in the apartment over their bakery where they raised their family. Staying with them are their daughters Florence (home from college and training to swim the English Channel), and Fannie (pregnant and on bed-rest), their granddaughter Gussie, and a young German woman, Anna. Told in the alternating voices of the characters, the reader gets to know each of them well.
Tragedy strikes the family early in the story, and the decision is made not to share the news with Fannie so as not to put her already high-risk pregnancy in further jeopardy. But keeping secrets takes a toll on everyone; tensions build, other secrets are laid bare and they too have consequences. By summer’s end, things are very different for all members of the household.
This is a promising debut and rates a 3.5 star rating from me. While I was immediately drawn into the story, the characters never really took hold of me as I had hoped they would. Nevertheless, I will definitely be keeping this author on my radar!
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are me own.
This novel is beautifully written and conveys so many emotions that I could relate to. As a mother, I could relate to Esther, Florence’s mother, and all of the decisions that she made during the course of the story to protect her family. Her decisions are not easy ones to make and I wondered what I would do in this tragic situation.
This novel is told from several points of view and it was that technique that allowed me to really feel what each of these characters were thinking and what they were going through to cope with this tragedy.
Fannie is Florence’s sister who has been on bedrest in hospital because she had lost a baby the year before and is at high risk. She is unhappy that Florence hasn’t visited her and has trouble accepting the excuses that the rest of her family give her. She also misses her 7 year old daughter, Gussie, who was staying with her grandparents.
Gussie is wise beyond her years. She had watched the beginning of summer unfold, after her sister Florence returned from college. She had some doubts when Anna, a refugee from Germany, was brought into the family by her father. It was said that he and the girl’s mother grew up together, but Gussie felt that there was a missing piece of Anna’s story that she wasn’t being told. Gussie adored Florence and wanted to be with her as much as she could.
Gussie also had strong feelings for Stuart, a lifeguard at the beach where Florence often swam. He was a likable, sociable young man whom some were jealous of because his father is a very wealthy man. What they don’t know is that Stuart had been determined not to work for his family but to make a life on his own.
Joseph, Florence’s father, loves his family and is very supportive of Florence and her goals. He is devastated when a tragedy takes place. He is determined, however, to keep this secret from Fannie, as he is sure that it will devastate her and endanger the pregnancy. He is very unhappy with Fannie’s husband, Isacc, who has been very much absent in the care of his daughter Gussie and has not really been visiting his wife in hospital often. Joseph and Esther have never liked him and are sure that he is up to another scheme to make money, even though he has a good job working with Joseph.
Isaac is a very easy person to dislike. He seems to have little moral compass and shows little emotion towards Gussie and his wife. He is always dreaming up another plan that will make him a rich man, whether or not his wife wants any part of it. He is quite often absent during the turmoil that encompasses the family and offers no support to anyone.
Joseph’s decision to bring Anna to the United States does stem from a desire to rescue her from Hitler’s closing attacks on Jewish people, but we know that there is something else behind his support of her. Was he closer to her mother than he admits?
Anna herself is a hard person to understand. She can be kind but is also self serving and some of her actions I felt to be questionable. She was my least favorite character and one that I thought could have used more description for her actions, particularly at the end of the novel.
What kept this from being a 5 star book for me was the ending. I felt that it was too easily wrapped up and “happily ever after”, which is seldom true in real life.
This is a highly character driven family drama which, I was surprised to learn, is based on a real woman. In the author’s notes I read: “The character of Florence Adler is based on a real girl who grew up in Atlantic City. Her name was Florence Lowenthal and she was my great-great-aunt.” There are many other characters who were real people and many of the events did take place. It is probably this fact that shows through in the strength of this novel’s family dynamics. This is a book not to be rushed as there are many emotions and events to ponder over.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.
This novel is set to publish on July 7, 2020.
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland is quite honestly one of the best books I have read this year. It is absolutely stunning. This historical fiction novel is the first novel to be written by this author, and if this is any indication of her talent, there will be many more gems to come.
This is such a unique and fascinating plot that focusses on the Adler family during the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City. It is in 3 parts, each part covering a summer month, and each chapter alternating between the viewpoints of the main characters (which is ingenious by the way): Gussie, Esther, Joseph, Fannie, Issac, Stuart, and Anna.
The story starts out with a tragic loss of the Adler’s youngest of two daughters: Florence. The drama unfolds not just of reacting and coping with the sudden loss, but also with the idea to keep the news of the death away from Fannie whom has 2 months left of a difficult pregnancy, as the fear from Esther (the women’s mother) is that the news could jeopardize the safety of mom and baby (especially after their infant loss the year before). What ensues is nothing short of breathtaking.
The landscape descriptions, the literary translation of the depth of the loss, sadness, grieving, anger, frustration, helplessness and finally hope, acceptance, and love that the author was able to give the reader is nothing short of amazing. I felt as if I was actually part of the family. My heart rate increased when I was worried, fearful, and tears spilled alongside the family during this time of loss and also awakening. The development and change of each character throughout this summer is mesmerizing.
The plot is fantastic, the pace perfect, the characters were complex yet relatable, and the ending perfect.
It was also even more memorable to read the author note at the end and to know that this is actually based on her own family. She describes what is a reflection of true events and people, and what was added and changed for the story.
I even loved the author’s thanks to her friends and family at the end.
This is an amazing book, the top 3 that I have had the honor to read this year, and I implore everyone to please read this.
5/5 stars enthusiastically