Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again, and thought that she'd banished the ghost of her life with them, and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later, a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Although set in the 70s and 80s, it doesn't hark back to the cultures of the time but you get a feel for simpler times and the joy of an innocent childhood. She manages to do this by describing emotions and a sense of place efficiently without over-describing and for me, balances this perfectly with the amount of dialogue.Added to that the story features many ideas that she's used in other novels, an unusual family, an affair, a long lost lover etc. Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.

In dramatic contrast to her own conventional family, the Radleys were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to out suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle. Clare Chambers's writing reads so effortlessly, it's like you're reading something you wrote yourself, as she adds some thoughts about life that you'll probably identify with.Raised in a very conservative household, only child Abigail lives out a dull life with Mother and Father in suburbia filled with net curtains and clipped lawns. Abigail, when we meet her, is a cellist in an established orchestra and it is not until she attends an after show party and is introduced to Marcus Radley that we start to get a glimpse into the life of this young woman. As well as a perceptive, witty look at the pretensions of suburbia, Learning to Swim is a quirky, moving story of friendship and love, peopled with irresistible, unforgettable characters who haunt the reader's mind after the book has ended. Clare’s gift for storytelling and her quirky but incredibly accessible style make her novels a sheer joy to read. There are moments of beauty as Abigail observes these colourful characters, never quite realising the significance of some of her interactions.

Abigail Jex, a thirty-something cellist playing with a provincial orchestra, is surprised when, at a reception after one of her engagements, she meets Marcus Radley (Rad) - a face from her past and someone she has not seen for thirteen years. I was surprised when I found out this book had originally been published in 1998 as it felt like it could have been written this year - always the sign of a good read! It starts with a present situation and then goes back in time for most of the book until everything is explained and you get back to where you started.Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you’re looking for a read that will take you back to navigating teenage friendships and family life. It’s a story about friendship and inter-family relationships and although the pace is fairly slow at times the author draws you in with her descriptive style of writing. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, however I did feel it dragged on a little, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending which felt somewhat anticlimactic. I enjoyed it, although I found it rather long and it had what would now probably be described as a bit of a YA feel to it. The book is set in London and revolves around Abigail and her friendship with Frances who come from very different families.

I wasn't glued to the book wanting to know what would happen next; instead I read it slowly as though savouring a good wine. She has a talent for creating characters who are not only lifelike and eccentric, but immensely believable, and who have stayed with me long after I closed the book. The Radley's were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad. Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. I thought the author did a good job of portraying the teenage Abigail's limited understanding of what exactly was going on in the family of her friend Frances, and I enjoyed everyone's assertion that Lexi was 'the normal one'. This is a wonderful exploration of family, of growing up and imagining other families are more cool/interesting/fun/less troubled than your own, only beneath the surface, everywhere are secrets and tragedy lurks.