Jackie Davis: Swim

Reviewed by PHILIPPA JAMIESON*

The second novel by this Gisborne writer, Swim is about Maya, who discovers a lump in her breast and is diagnosed with cancer. It's her worst nightmare as her own mother died of cancer, and her husband died in an accident, leaving Maya to bring up their baby son on her own.

Old memories are stirred up and woven into the story. An orphan and an only child, Maya is afraid she will repeat the pattern by dying and leaving eight-year-old Charlie. What would happen to him? The sole relative seems to be Kathy, Maya's sister-in-law, best friend and confidante.

Maya alternates between anger, denial, worry and grief. She turns away the social worker's offer of home help and isolates herself. I wanted to shake her, she's so adamant about refusing practical and emotional support. As a woman, a mother and a nurse, she has always cared for others. Now she must learn to be cared for, in her own way and her own time.

The author (also a nurse) details the surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy - no alternatives mentioned - and the constant waiting for test results, for therapy, to recover. Tiredness, nausea and depression are unrelenting.

Davis' easy-to-read style belies the depth of the subject matter. The author has a sensitive touch, especially where Maya is explaining things to Charlie, trying to do the right thing.

Charlie is trying to cope; sometimes fearful, sometimes bored, he serves as a reality check.

The book is an intense look at Maya's process, and I found it angst-ridden and introspective to the point of claustrophobia. But people with cancer and other serious illnesses can become very single-minded, and some of their experience is undoubtedly reflected in these pages. Although somewhat repetitive, Swim still compelled me to read on.

Penguin, $29.95

* Philippa Jamieson is a Dunedin freelance writer.