Welcome to my review of The Swimmer by Graham Norton. This is part of the Reading Agency’s initiative to encourage more people to read. There are 14 books in the quick reads series just released on 14th April and I bought them all. I am not their target audience as I already read a lot but I really like these for trying out new-to-me authors. This was the first one I read and was a great introduction to Graham Norton’s work, which I have heard a lot of praise for already.
Quick Reads 2022
Helen is a retired teacher living on the Irish coast. She enjoys the peace and quiet – despite the burden of Margaret, her unpleasant sister. Margaret arrived three years ago for a short holiday, but somehow managed to stay and worm her way into Helen’s life.
One day, Helen sees a man struggling in the sea and decides to investigate. She doesn’t quite know what it is, but something about it feels very strange…
Graham Norton is one of the UK’s most treasured comedians and presenters. Born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, Norton’s first big TV appearance was as Father Noel Furlong on Channel 4’s Father Ted in the early 1990s. He then secured a prime time slot on Channel 4 with his chat shows So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton.
Known for his quick wit Graham began hosting a variety of talent shows on BBC One from Strictly Dance Fever and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? to The Eurovision Song Contest and BAFTAs. Graham was soon approached by the BBC to front his own self-titled chat show The Graham Norton Show in 2007.
Graham Norton has won 9 BAFTAs for Best Entertainment Performance, and Best Entertainment Programme. He presents The Graham Norton Show on BBC1, a show on Virgin Radio every weekend, and is a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Norton won the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards in 2017.
The plot of The Swimmer is quite simple, a man swims out to sea and never returns. He is seen by retired teacher Helen who spots him swimming but promptly falls asleep. When she wakes, she is concerned as his bag is still on the beach so he obviously hasn’t come back but she’s been asleep for a while. She reports her concerns to the police and a short investigation follows.
I felt the plot was quite similar to the idea of John and Anne Darwin (which you may have seen recently on The Thief, His wife and the canoe) where John faked his own death. It’s not the same story but may have been inspired by it initially. It was an interesting plot and I enjoyed following it through.
For a short story, I felt that the characters were well developed. There are only a couple of main characters but even the smaller characters had a bit of a backstory and some umph. The ending was neatly wrapped up and the full story is told within these 80 pages.
I enjoyed Graham Norton’s writing, but I found it to be a slow read. I didn’t immediately get into the book which I had hoped I would, given its short size. I would like to read more of Norton’s work as this felt like a good insight, but I don’t think I will be in any rush to push it to the top of my pile. That said, if you are looking for a quick read, perhaps something a little different to normal then this could be a good choice for you.
While I loved that when I was reading it I heard Graham Norton’s voice in my head you may not find the same!
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| Title | The Swimmer |
| Author | Graham Norton |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | Pasperback |
| Page Count | 82 Pages |
| Genre | Contemporary |
| Publisher | Coronet |
| Release Date | 14th April 2022 |
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