Breaststrokes

'A study of womanhood, vulnerability, and the secrecy of the inner-life' â" Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

By: Margaux Vialleron

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Paperback | 14 May 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.8 x 13.0 x 2.3

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Sharply observed and painfully relatable, Breaststrokes is a novel that seems to emerge from the haze of our current time. This story of unexpected encounters and intimacies is perfect for fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and Beautiful World, Where Are You.

Cloe and Gertrude and the Jenkins-Bell sisters, Mathilde and Sarah, have never met. They are strangers who share a city.

It is Sunday morning. Cloe has woken-up in someone else’s home; Gertrude starts her shift in the pub kitchen, while Mathilde and Sarah are on their way to lunch.

Soon, these four women’s lives will overlap.

Saturday felt like a normal day, but on Sunday the past will catch-up with them as they realise that there never is only one side to a story.

About the Author

Margaux Vialleron is a writer and co-host of the SPK Book Club, a podcast, reading and culinary community. Her short stories and essays have been published in magazines including Harper’s Bazaar and Compound Butter. She is the author of The Yellow Kitchen and Breaststrokes is her second novel.

Industry Reviews

'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

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