Questions tagged [swimming-in-the-dark]
Questions about the novel 'Swimming in the Dark' (2020) by Tomasz Jędrowski. Should be tagged with [tomasz-jedrowski].
56 questions
5
votes
2
answers
118
views
What does "look a little … something." mean in this context?
I would like to know what "You look a little … something." means in the following sentences:
You and Maksio reached her just as the song came to an end, a storm of
cheers and ...
- 2,357
9
votes
2
answers
656
views
Where in the New York City metro area does Ludwik live?
In Tomasz Jedrowski's Swimming in the Dark, set in the early 1980s, the narrator, Ludwik, commutes to midtown Manhattan for work. The text makes clear that he has to cross a river to get there:
This ...
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
57
views
What does "which gradually became the only thing we knew" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "which gradually became the only
thing we knew" means in the following sentences:
On the first morning of camp they woke us early, storming into the hut
and ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
68
views
What does "tucked in below the ramparts of the faculty grounds" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "tucked in below the ramparts of
the faculty grounds" means in the following sentences:
During those weeks, you and I would go to the university pool every
now and ...
- 51.1k
4
votes
2
answers
400
views
In Swimming in the Dark, why does Beniek go through the preparations for First Communion?
In Chapter 1 of Tomasz Jedrowski's Swimming in the Dark, set in the late sixties or early seventies, the protagonist Ludwik describes his childhood crush on a friend, Beniek. The boys become close ...
- 2,170
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
What does "an appeal, a right violated and invoked" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "an appeal, a right violated and invoked" means in the following sentences:
I stood.
‘I need to go,’ I said, knowing it was true. Your face, your limbs –
it was as ...
- 76.7k
4
votes
2
answers
374
views
What does "I wished it could be us out there." mean in this context?
I would like to know what "I wished it could be
us out there." means in the following sentences:
‘Goodness,’ sighed Karolina, rolling her eyes, ‘doesn’t he tell you
anything? Maksio and ...
- 21
-2
votes
1
answer
76
views
What does "I’d lost" mean in this context? [closed]
I would like to know what "I’d
lost you" means in the following sentences:
We walked back to the veranda, and I couldn’t look at you, only at the
ground, not sure what had just happened. I ...
- 166
1
vote
1
answer
310
views
What does "the same faces" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "the
same faces" means in the following sentences:
That afternoon Hania said she was preparing a surprise for us; after
lunch she and Agata went out with two empty ...
- 31.4k
0
votes
1
answer
63
views
What does "mind our own business" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "mind our own business" means in the following sentences:
‘There’s no law against what we’re doing.’
‘I know that.’ Your voice softened. ‘But we need to act as if ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
69
views
Does “her bike” refer to a motorcycle or a bicycle in this passage?
I would like to know what "her bike" means in the following sentences:
I was very young; Father had just left us and Mother was so distraught
I was afraid she’d die from grief. She stayed ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
43
views
What does "the gigantic gates and lines of soldiers that protected the castle that was the Soviet embassy" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "the
gigantic gates and lines of soldiers that protected the
castle that was the Soviet embassy" means in the following sentences:
We whizzed off, speeding ...
- 31.4k
2
votes
1
answer
76
views
What does "And it won’t be weird with Hania? Coming on to" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "And it won’t
be weird with Hania? Coming on to you?" means in the following sentences:
You stopped and looked at me with a consolatory smile. ‘Don’t worry,
this ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
36
views
What does "quick, light beats prepared the room, gathered our attention, ecstatic, simple and single-minded." mean in this context?
I would like to know what "At once a string of
quick, light beats prepared the room, gathered our
attention, ecstatic, simple and single-minded." means in the following sentences:
And then ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
187
views
What does "I pressed her against me" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "I pressed her against me" means in the following sentences:
We had another drink and had just started to move to the music when an
arm snaked itself around my ...
- 1,004
2
votes
1
answer
69
views
What does "It made me think that throughout my life, up to this point, everything I’d done had felt either irrelevant or replaceable." mean here?
I would like to know what "It made me
think that throughout my life, up to this point, everything
I’d done had felt either irrelevant or replaceable." means in the following sentences:
I ...
- 481
2
votes
1
answer
35
views
Does "a satisfaction in the forbidden, a challenge" mean a satisfaction in doing what is forbidden?
I would like to know what "a satisfaction in the forbidden, a challenge" means in the following sentences:
I walked home slowly. The air was suffocating. The sky was grey, and
sticky wind ...
- 9,963
3
votes
2
answers
180
views
Does "Like an unwritten piece of paper" mean like a paper that is literally blank in this passage?
I would like to know what "Like an unwritten piece of paper" means in the following sentences:
It did me good, this walk. It reminded me of the aimless ones I would
take in Wrocław, when I ...
- 9,963
1
vote
1
answer
94
views
Does "a country junction" mean a crossing of roads in the countryside in this passage?
I would like to know what "a country junction" means in the following sentences:
The first car that stopped took us east. The driver, a middle-aged
man, eyed us from time to time but asked ...
- 9,963
1
vote
1
answer
110
views
Does "rounded streets" mean curved streets in this passage?
I would like to know what "rounded streets" means in the following sentences:
I had known him almost all my life, Beniek. He lived around the corner from us, in our neighbourhood in Wrocław,...
- 9,963
2
votes
1
answer
46
views
Does "pact you’ve made with yourself" refer to a concession or agreement in this passage?
I would like to know what "pact you’ve made with yourself" means in the following sentences:
‘Did you hear?’ he said with his smoker’s voice, almost immediately
after picking up the phone. ‘...
- 9,963
1
vote
1
answer
106
views
Does "bottles" refer to alcoholic drinks in this passage?
I would like to know what "bottles" means in the following sentences:
We followed him through a wood-panelled corridor into a large room
filled with smoke and people. Music blasted ...
- 9,963
2
votes
1
answer
62
views
In this passage from Swimming in the Dark, what does "arched back defined" mean?
I would like to know what "Your arched back defined" means in the following sentences:
Afterwards you got up and switched on the radio, sitting on your
haunches, turning the tune button.
...
- 76.7k
2
votes
1
answer
46
views
In this passage from "Swimming in the Dark", does "a sort of thought-through whisper" mean a pondered-upon whisper?
I would like to know what "a sort of thought-through whisper" means in the following sentences:
‘That’s the right attitude.’ He leaned forward and put his chunky arms
on the desk, his ...
- 9,963
1
vote
1
answer
351
views
In this passage from "Swimming in the Dark", does "came through to the corridor with me" mean they came out through the room to the corridor?
I would like to know what "came through to the corridor with me" means in the following sentences:
‘No, thank you,’ you said, waiting for her to stop. ‘I won’t trouble
you for long. Ludwik ...
- 9,963
3
votes
1
answer
113
views
What does "Behind it lay the nuns’ convent, their cloister with its orchards and grazing cows..." mean here?
I would like to know what "Behind it lay the nuns’ convent, their
cloister with its orchards and grazing cows, and new
residential blocks towering just above." means in the following ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
69
views
What does "I heard her shoving the brooms up against it, heard running in other parts of the office..." mean in this context?
I would like to know what "I heard her shoving the brooms up
against it, heard running in other parts of the office, and
then the sound of her heels on the wooden floor of the
corridor." ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
42
views
What does "I need to check on somebody" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "I need to check on somebody." means in the following sentences:
We followed him through a wood-panelled corridor into a large room
filled with smoke and people. ...
- 51.1k
1
vote
1
answer
75
views
What does "searching the flats and offices, returning to interrogate the man and the woman and to take down their details" mean here?
I would like to know what "searching the flats
and offices, returning to interrogate the man and
the woman and to take down their details" means in the following sentences:
There was a ...
- 31.4k
2
votes
1
answer
60
views
What does "referred from the centre for student accommodation" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "referred from the centre for student accommodation" means in the following sentences:
When I arrived in the flat, it seemed smaller to me than before. The
kitchen ...
- 51.1k
3
votes
1
answer
51
views
What does "There was so much I could not get enough of, so much I would never be able to grasp or possess, no matter how much I tried." mean here?
I would like to know what "There was so much I could not get enough of, so much I would never be able to grasp or possess, no matter how much I tried." means in the following sentences:
You ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
62
views
What does "the morning when the darkness would be gone" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "the morning when the darkness would be gone" means in the following sentences:
That night I lay awake in bed, the other guys fast asleep around me,
the moon ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
32
views
What does "letting its current take over" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "letting its current
take over" means in the following sentences:
You smelled of water and pines. There was softness, and there was
hardness. I could sense your ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
72
views
What does "I was paralysed by possibility, caught between the vertigo of fulfilment and the abyss of uncertainty." mean here?
I would like to know what "I was paralysed by possibility,
caught between the vertigo of fulfilment and
the abyss of uncertainty." means in the following sentences:
‘Goodnight,’ you said ...
- 481
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
What does "total inconsequence" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "total inconsequence" means in the following sentences:
‘You coming?’
First I slipped off my sandals, then my shirt. I folded it carefully
and lay it on a soft ...
- 481
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
What does "said through a bite of radish" mean here?
I would like to know what "said through a bite of radish" means in the following sentences:
‘So you’re students,’ the mother said.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ you said through a bite of radish, looking ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
42
views
What does "suddenly close again in the dark" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "suddenly close again in the dark" means in the following sentences:
We walked out of the barn and into the house. There was a dark
corridor that smelled of must ...
- 51.1k
1
vote
1
answer
37
views
What does "They can’t bear to see us having fun" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "They can’t bear to see us having fun" means in the following sentences:
At mealtimes I sat with Karolina and Beata, a friend from lectures.
She was short and ...
- 31.4k
0
votes
1
answer
24
views
What does "He told me how he’d been in the war" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "He told me how he’d been in the war" means in the following sentences:
I wanted to run home straight away, knew I had to get away from this
place, and remembered ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
35
views
What does "which welcomed the touch of unknown fingers and summer air" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "which welcomed the touch of unknown fingers
and summer air" means in the following sentences:
‘Come on,’ he said, taking the flask from me and letting his hand
...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
272
views
What does "a guy from the year below" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "a guy from the year below" means in the following sentences:
At mealtimes I sat with Karolina and Beata, a friend from lectures.
She was short and round-faced and ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
1
answer
60
views
What does "along a narrow arm of the river that snaked its way into the forest" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "along a narrow
arm of the river that snaked its way into the forest" means in the following sentences:
On our last evening the comrade leader made a speech, ...
- 51.1k
3
votes
2
answers
109
views
What does "real food" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "real food" means in the following sentences:
The next morning we stripped the sheets off our beds and packed our things. The boys were excited, talking about the ...
- 31.4k
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
What does "you can’t possibly have gone through life as carelessly as you made out" means here?
I would like to know what "you can’t possibly have gone through life as carelessly as you made out" means in the following sentences:
I stood in the silent stairwell and felt terror travel ...
- 31.4k
2
votes
1
answer
57
views
What does "who spoke and lived in denial, destined" mean here?
I would like to know what "who spoke and lived in denial, destined" means in the following sentences:
The bus was waiting for more people to arrive. I sat by the window,
the orange wool ...
- 481
2
votes
1
answer
59
views
What does "the expanse between departure and arrival when you’re seemingly nowhere, defined by another kind of time" means here?
I would like to know what "the expanse between departure and
arrival when you’re seemingly nowhere, defined by
another kind of time" means in the following sentences:
The bus was almost ...
- 481
3
votes
1
answer
65
views
What does "a prophecy I was unable to read" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "a prophecy I was unable to read" means in the following sentences:
When Belka had finished, we grabbed our bags from the bus and were
assigned to the different ...
- 481
1
vote
1
answer
76
views
What does "the dark-blonde fringe that framed her unruly eyes" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "the dark-blonde
fringe that framed her unruly eyes" means in the following sentences:
I turned back to Karolina. She was smoking, her wide lips painted
coral-red ...
- 19.2k
2
votes
1
answer
66
views
What does "I had lived them" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "I had lived them" means in the following sentences:
After this, Karolina came back from the ladies’ and we left. I was
determined to take nothing from this place, ...
- 1,004
-1
votes
2
answers
46
views
What does "the continent" mean in this context?
I would like to know what "the continent" means in the following sentences:
I had known him almost all my life, Beniek. He lived around the corner from us, in our neighbourhood in Wrocław, ...
- 76.7k