Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

I would love to turn this book into a stage play. I spent one whole night dreaming up exactly how I would stage certain scenes, with a revolving set that transforms from the past cabin to the present-day cabin.

Aaaah. Fuller's Swimming Lessons has left an indelible print on my heart. It centers on the relationship between Gil and his wife, Ingrid, who disappeared 12 years ago. The book begins with Gil thinking he has seen his lost-missing wife outside his bookstore and chasing her outside. In this process he becomes ill and his adult daughter, Flora, comes to stay with him for time. She is a woman who still longs for her absent mother and thinks this visit might finally provide her with answers to past.

Flora's present-day chapters are broken up by letters Ingrid wrote to her husband before tucking them into books, where her husband may or may not ever find and read them. Together, these letters give a picture of how she and Gil met, fell in love and what led to her disappearance.  As Flora cares for her father, she learns some of what happened in the past and must make hard choices about what they mean for her future.

I loved this character-driven story filled with mystery, regret, sorrow and love.

Did I mention I want to make it into a stage play?