Breaststrokes

'A study of womanhood, vulnerability, and the secrecy of the inner-life. Vialleron’s writing is laced with a love for these women who can barely love themselves. A novel for anyone interested in the way the body keeps score or in the complex intimacies between women' - Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

'A tender, lyrical novel about the ripples caused when consent is taken away from women and the loneliness this causes, even when you're surrounded by people. It will tug at your heart strings’ - Araminta Hall

'Reading Breaststrokes felt a little like watching ribbons unfurl – or intertwine. Margaux Vialleron writes tenderly and evocatively about female friendship, fear and desire' - Chloë Ashby

‘Timely, structurally inventive, with delicious prose. A deep-dive into what consent - in all its forms - actually means, in a modern young woman’s life, and into what happens when you pair ideas of pleasure and consent. A joy in its originality, Vialleron lights up the inner lives and perspectives of four women across a day. There’s a question at the heart of Breaststrokes that you feel compelled to find the answer to’ – Pip Finkemeyer, author of Sad Girl Novel