Night Swimming

by Robin Schwarz

In the bestselling tradition of Good in Bed , and She's Come Undone , comes a charming romantic comedy about a woman who flees a life and a body she doesn't want, and finds love and her true self in the process.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Book Club, Contemporary, Womens

341 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Naysa Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Swimming by Robin Schwarz is by far one of the greatest novels I have read. Honestly, it was an honor to read this book, and meet the wonderful characters in it like the lovely miss Charlotte. This book was very touching in a way that I thought was impossible, through the crazy adventures Charlotte takes you with. I thought this novel was going to be a bit boring at first but I was wrong. Indeed, I definitely misjudged this book at first but as I read I got interested more and more which was another thing I loved about this book.

[Magpie67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sometimes you've got to change just to stay afloat... "

5 star rating!

Charlotte's bad news gets her the heck out of dodge with a bag of money she has pilfered from the bank she had worked at for 15 years. On the lam, overweight and needing a huge change to her personality Charlotte sets off for Hollywood. Hoping for a glimpse of Tom Selleck Charlotte settles at an aparmtent complex with a pool and some eccentric neighbors.

Little does she know all of it is for the best and good things will come out in the end.

Tom Selleck fans will love this story! Everyone else enjoy Charlotte's transformation!



"For too many years, quiet, unassuming, overweight Charlotte Clapp has let life slip through her fingers. Holed up in tiny Gorham, New Hampshire, gorging on bonbons and glued to reruns of Magnum, P.I., she has made a habit of playing it safe. But Charlotte is about to get a major wake-up call. What was supposed to be a routine physical turns up shattering news: Her days are numbered. In fact, she has just one year left.

How can she be dying when she has never truly lived? That's the refrain that keeps running through her head. Unwilling to waste another second, Charlotte walks into the First Savings and Loan Bank where she's worked for fifteen years and quits. Then she does the unthinkable: She robs the place.

Now two million dollars richer, Charlotte-all 253 pounds of her-is going on the lam to discover what life and love are all about. It's a journey she never envisioned-one that's bound to be difficult, maybe painful, even lonely. Yet it will transform her in the most unpredictable and deliciously surprising ways.

Arriving in Hollywood, Charlotte changes her name and buys a luxury apartment, complete with expansive views, marble foyer, and a blond, built, bronzed god of a pool boy. She forges new friendships, falls in lust, and, on nights when she can't bear the weight of her own thoughts, takes moonlit swims. Soon something magical happens: In the buoyant water of the pool, the pounds start to slip off, and the real Charlotte begins to emerge.

Then, just when Charlotte believes that the love and happiness she's longed for are finally within reach, reality intrudes. Back in Gorham, people have begun to investigate the disappearance of both Charlotte and the two million dollars. She's a wanted woman. But will she have time to get what she wants before it's too late?

A wise and winning debut by a talented newcomer, Night Swimming is that rare hybrid: a novel filled with both wit and heart."

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was so...wonderful! It's about an overweight woman who discovers she's going to die. After being told that from her doctor, she throws caution to the wind and ends up finding the real woman hidden inside her. She discovers confidence and the ability to love and be loved. I felt like this is a story that every woman should read. Especially young women who are growing up in a world where we are expected to stay young and beautiful and skinny and perfect...and none of us are. This book helps you to understand your own beauty and to realize that if you are beautiful inside, it will absolutely show on the outside.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Not what I had expected! Talk about cheering for the underdog! The story of this wonderful woman warms your heart, and makes you try to find ways - even small ways - to better yourself. She allows the reader to follow her journey, be inside her head and her heart. Very well written, full of heart and soul. I laughed and cried in public with this book - kinda funny now that I think back at my reactions.

[☯Lilbookworm☮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book.Happy ending!

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

For quiet, overweight, unassuming Charlotte Clapp, life can be summed up by a single phrase-"some men die with their music still in them." All of her life, she's lived in a small town where the only thing more stifling that its inhabitants are her own thoughts. But, when she gets the news from her doctor that she's dying, and has only a year to live, letting the music inside of her out has never seemed more important.

So, she robs a bank. Yes, a bank...the very same bank that she's worked at for the past fifteen years. After all, she's dying, and if she wants to realize her dreams- which include going to Hollywood, California, meeting Tom Selleck, singing karaoke, riding in a hot-air balloon, and finding a man to love who will love her in return-she's going to need money. Lots of money. Money in the form of two million dollars in small bills, to be exact, which just happens to be sitting in the bank in small town Gorham, Massachusetts.

And so begins Charlotte's transformation; first into the life of Blossom McBeal, a woman who unconsciously strips off over a hundred pounds of comforting body fat, meets a widow who throws parties for her dogs, and falls head-fast into lust with the pool boy. And as the people of Gorham believe that Charlotte has committed suicide over the news of her impending death, Blossom comes to terms with who she is. She's a woman who has so much to give, and so much to give up-anger, resentment, and, above all, she must hand out forgiveness to everyone who has hurt her, and must also forgive herself.

As Gorham's Police Chief begins to suspect that quiet Charlotte, all two-hundred and fifty-three pounds of her, may have been behind the bank heist, opinions in town flow fast and free. It seems that Charlotte was much loved, more so than she ever knew. But out in Hollywood, Blossom is learning to live again-through nightly swims in the pool at her apartment complex.

NIGHT SWIMMING is a wonderful, wonderful book, a mixture of women's fiction, mystery, adventure, and romance. Ms. Schwarz perfectly blends the story into a book that you won't be able to put down. Charlotte is me-she's you-she's every woman whose ever had dreams that have been put on hold, stuffed into the back of an old drawer. She's the woman we wish we could be-brave, spontaneous, forgiving, loving. Charlotte is Blossom, who is Lila, who is all of us.

As Chief Makley closes in, as her friendship with her neighbor Dolly comforts her in her sadness, as her relationship with lawyer-turned-pool boy Skip turns to love, the message of NIGHT SWIMMING is clear-no regrets. Live your life to the fullest. And no matter what, you cannot be allowed to die with your music still inside of you.

[Crystal books_inthewild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Swimming is one of those rare books I return to again and again- and somehow it gets better every time. After a devastating missed diagnosis and the news that she may only have a year to live, our main character makes a choice that’s equal parts reckless, hilarious, and completely compelling: she robs the bank she works at.

What follows is a heartfelt, surprising, and deeply human journey of self-discovery.

Robin Schwarz balances humour with vulnerability so beautifully. The characters feel lived-in and real, the friendships are warm and messy in all the right ways, and the touches of romance and hope are just perfect. Despite the premise, this story is ultimately uplifting- it asks what it really means to live fully, bravely, and authentically.

I’ve read Night Swimming four or five times now, and every single time I fall more in love with these characters and the themes woven throughout. It’s funny, tender, and quietly profound. A total comfort read and an easy favourite.
Highly recommend.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ehh... This was not a good book. I expected, from its description and some of the reviews, something light and fun - a beach-read. And while the plot was certainly ridiculous enough to qualify and there were a few parts that sort of made me chuckle, there was something inherently alienating, off-putting about the whole book. The way the book was written, its "style" (if you could really call it that), made it seem like watching fish act out a story through thick aquarium glass that had never been cleaned. You could snatch glimpses of something real, but you could never actually connect with any of the characters through the dirty glass of her words. Her most realistic creations were the dogs... I'm glad that I picked up this one up in the dollar section! It is a shame, because as ridiculous and predictable as the plot was, I think that there was real potential here for this to be a genuinely fun book.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! I have recommended it to so many of my friends. It's a book that I could totally see myself right there with the character. It's funny and suspenseful and has a wonderful ending.

[Astrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nicked a paperback copy of this from a community room in the campsite I was staying at during my trip to the beach. While I had brought other books along with me, none of them had that trashy-yet-so-delicious chick-lit feel to them that makes for the best seaside reading. This book? It ticked every box. over the top fantasy-wish fulfillment? check. summery-setting of the american south and then L.A? check. fast-paced, light, and romantic? check, check, check. would I read this in the dead of winter? no. But if you want something quick to fly through during a sunny day by the pool this is absolutely the book to take. Yes, the premise was a bit silly, and about as realistic as the fantasy novel I also nicked from the community room (you can't convince me that anyone else would have actually read these books, and I feel absolutely no guilt at all in taking them.) But 100% the GOOD kind of unrealistic trashy chick lit.

[Keshia Burchette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.

Charlotte Clapp lived in the "middle." Everything was always the same, as if her life was on autopilot. She was overweight, worked at a bank, did the same things each day and had dreams that had slipped by. When she was given a year to live she snapped, robbing the bank, pushing her car off in the river and running away to follow her dreams.

For anyone who is too scared to take the plunge or change their life!

[Grace Alligood · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, not great, but good. It was a light, fun read, but it never really sucked me in to finish it. The last 100 pages or so flew by, but the first 200 felt like it could have been shaved down..or just had a bit more excitement. It’d make a great beach read

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is unrealistic. Someone robs a bank and gets off scott free for helping the feds. And along the adventure magically loses a bunch of weight and the love of your life. The ending was anticlimactic, to say the least.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just an "eh" book. You know it was going to work all out for Charlotte in the end, very predictable, but still somewhat enjoyable.

[Kathleen Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish the story could be true for me.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off slow, but then got interesting.

[Ronn Estella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I super love this book! One of the best novels I have read so far.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this multiple times within a couple of years of owning the book. Loved it and will definitely re-read it again.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun summer read, a journey of self discovery, finding purpose, love, etc. Beautifully written scenery and personality. Worth your time if you like rom-coms and the like

[Tricia Cassavaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 Funny and sweet

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. Definitely recommend it.

[Michelle Perea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy fast read about a lady who finds herself after her night swims 😉

[CLW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read with a totally ridiculous plot. I really enjoyed the main character and was rooting for her. A great escape book.

[Melissa]

Recommended by Crystal (books in the wild).

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlotte is an overweight woman living a boring life in a small town in New Hampshire when she is told she only has a year to live. Charlotte decides to quit her job, steal some money and move to L.A. While living in L.A. she makes friends, falls in love and changes her name to Blossom. Blossom begins to swim at night (hence the name) and begins to lose weight.

The people in this book where kind of one-dimensional. Everyone is pretty transparent and you pretty much know what everyone is going to do before they do it. I can't say anything in this book came as a surprise to me. The story itself was pretty predictable. Blossom starts out as kind of annoying, insecure, a bit needy but ends up quite the opposite. Most of the people she meets are likable even if they are transparent. The one thing that really annoyed me was the way Blossom"s weight was handled. The basic message is that in order to be happy and fall in love you have to be thin. When Blossom was younger she was thin and then after a tragedy in her life she puts on weight. When the book begins she is described as very overweight. While she is in L.A. she begins swimming every night and eventually drops to at least a size 8 maybe smaller. Once she loses the weight she gets a makeover and BAM it's all good. Somehow in spite of all of that I found myself kind of liking the book. It was very easy to see exactly where the story was going and where it was going to end up. Overall it was just OK most of the time. After I finish a book by an author I've never read before, I ask myself did this book make me want to read anything else by this author, and , the answer today is no. I didn't hate this book but I'm not going to go looking for more by this author.
I was on the fence for days deciding on either a 2 or 3 star rating. I wish we could give 1/2 stars because I would give it 2 1/2. In the end I rounded down to 2.

[Rachel]

The story begins with a woman finding out she has cancer and only one year to live.
Finding herself in this situation, the average, law-abiding citizen, Charlotte Clapp, decides to take off on the journey of her life in order to spend her final year happier than ever before. This journey involves 3 critical steps. Step 1: Become a fugitive over-night by robbing the bank she has worked as a bank teller for the last 15 years. Step 2: Run across the country to the one place you’ve always dreamed of going—Hollywood, California. Step 3: Live life to the fullest—lose weight, fall in love, ride a hot air balloon, and swim in the pool of a million dollar apartment. With the police right on her tail, Charlotte does just this as she discovers herself and the world in a whole new way.

Through the use of descriptive and figurative language the author, Robin Schwarz, provides engaging descriptions of the environment and characters. The story has many unexpected twists that leave you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. From a rich old lady to cancer-ridden woman, Schwarz’s characters tell poignant life stories in unique ways. New identities, bank robbery, and the mob intermingle with the remarkable characters to entertain readers. However, several sections of the book lack momentum. Because these less interesting portions are interspersed with the action, the overall book is worth reading. The amusing tone, rich dialog, vivid language, and unusual metaphors make the story a delightful addition to any reader’s bookshelf.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Back and forth, back and forth she swam". Such a simple yet intense message.
I couldn't put this book down for even a second. The plot was so "out there" that it captivated me from cover to cover.
I was lucky enough, this passed 4th of July, to have met Robin in Rockport, MA in her beautiful store, 8 Bells.
I spoke of my own struggles, much like Charlotte/Blossom's. The author spoke with me for quite a while about the cosmic connection I share with the protagonist.
Robin signed my book with a beautiful message. In in she wrote, "your arms aren't too short to box with God... Let your garden grow and blossom into a person stronger than before".
Although Charlotte/Blossom ran away from her problems, rather than face them, she created her own destiny. She fought her demons in a comically heroic way. I cheered for her and cried with her and laughed with her as she journeyed through hardships, love, and a bank robbery that Bonnie & Clyde couldn't pull off.
I passed this story onto my mother and will continue passing it along until we all discover the Blossom McBeal in all of us.

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was okay in the beginning. I thought, "Interesting premise, slightly predictable, but I'm interested to see where this goes." However, it got very preachy, and completely unrealistic. Charlotte is OBSESSED with her love interest, in a clearly very unhealthy manner, but it all works out okay, because she comes to love herself, and then it's somehow not so creepy that she thinks she was in love with him before she knew anything about him? She stole $2 million, but because she somehow secreted away evidence of somebody else's crimes (which, as far as I remember, was not foreshadowed in any way in the book and came out of nowhere), she was completely let off the hook? No probation, no house arrest, no jail time?

Yeah, the first maybe 75, 100 pages were okay, and then just downhill from there. I would not recommend it.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gets a glowing "eh" review from me. While I can always get into a book that is written well with a fairly thin plot, and vice versa, I have a hard time getting into a book that is both written poorly with a thin plot. There is a marked difference between a book clearly written to be fanciful and a book that tries to actually convince the reader the plot is feasible. The good points about reading this book are that you won't have to think very hard about anything (it's probably best you don't anyway), and you'll get through it pretty quickly. Once you finish you'll probably think back to the way every episode of Murder, She Wrote ended - with the cliche chuckle and smile because once again everything ended up working out well with a neat bow on top.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

July’s book club selection. I wasn’t crazy about this book. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. It is the story of Charlotte, an overweight bank employee who learns that she has a year to live. She quits her job, robs the bank and leaves her boring life in New Hampshire. She travels to Hollywood, via New Orleans. Jackie said that this book seemed reminincent of She’s Come Undone, one of my least favorite book club selections. I see some similarities, but Charlotte is a more sympathetic character, though, than the protagonist of SCU. My favorite part was when the New Orleans bartender told Charlotte, “Sadness is okay. You have to have sadness to truly know happiness. Then, when you get it, it’s all that much sweeter, like honey from a rock…”