Swimmers in Winter

Author: Faye Guenther

Publisher: Invisible Publishing (2020)

Sharp and stylistic, the trifecta of diptychs that is Swimmers in Winter swirls between real and imagined pasts and futures to delve into our present cultural moment: conflicts between queer people and the police; the impact of homophobia, bullying, and PTSD; the dynamics of women's friendships; life for queer women in Toronto during WWII and after; experiences of economic precarity and precarious living conditions; the work of being an artist; and dystopian worlds. These are soul-searching, plot-driven character studies.

"Faye Guenther lovingly tells the stories of ordinary women whose lives have yet been mostly ignored by literature. Each character in this collection is a planet unto herself: the stories part the mists and show the miles to the surface. Dizzying, precise, and beautiful."

–Thea Lim

"Faye Guenther's writing is fully given over to both the heart and mind. Her clear-eyed observations of the secrets we keep and the confessions we make lend the stories in Swimmers in Winter uncommon grace and raw beauty. Guenther traces the paths of women in the city, struggling to survive, keep themselves fed and afloat, while also falling hard for each other. In turns sexy and tender, tough and head-swirling, these characters will leave you changed."

–Emily Schultz