Swimming for England

By: Martin Goodman

Published by Barbican Press, 2026-06-02

A darkly satirical literary
thriller that will captivate readers of transgressive fiction and social
critique.When Faisal emerges from the English Channel after his record-breaking swim from France, Brian and Eileen Pratchett expect
gratitude--after all, they rescued him from the refugee pool, fed him, trained
him, transformed him. But Cameron, a young Scottish drifter, has come searching
for his brother Malcolm, one of the Pratchetts' earlier 'projects.' Malcolm was
going to be a tennis champion. Instead, he disappeared.As Cameron's questions grow
more pointed and Faisal's gratitude turns ambiguous, the Pratchetts' carefully
maintained facade begins to crack. Behind their respectable seafront home with
its immaculate rose garden lies a darker story--one of control, obsession, and
the terrible price of failing to meet expectations.

Swimming for England is a
masterful psychological portrait that operates simultaneously as thriller,
social satire, and searing indictment. Goodman's prose is both beautiful and
brutal, his imagery visceral, his characters rendered with uncomfortable intimacy.
This is fiction that disturbs, provokes, and lingers--perfect for book clubs
seeking compact, challenging material and readers who appreciate the intersection of
literary ambition and page-turning suspense.