Breaststrokes : 'A study of womanhood, vulnerability, and the secrecy of the inner-life'

A novel on consent told in five acts over the course of one weekend. 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. 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. 'Breaststrokes is 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 'Reading Breaststrokes felt a little like watching ribbons unfurl - or intertwine. Margaux Vialleron writes tenderly and evocatively about female friendship, fear and desire'�Chlo� Ashby, author of Wet Paint and Second Self�� � �