The First Rule of Swimming A Novel [Paperback]

Courtney Brkic gracefully interweaves three generations of family stories and lies...all with authority and wisdom...An intimate portrayal of life in exile. ---O, the Oprah Magazine

When free spirit Jadranka mysteriously disappears shortly after emigrating to America, her older sister Magdalena must leave their ancestral Croatian island home and follow her to New York City. Magdalena's search begins to unspool the dark history of their family, reaching back three generations to a country torn by war.

This haunting and sure-footed first novel explores the legacy of betrayal and loss in a place where beauty is fused with hardship, and where individuals are forced to make wrenching choices as they are swept up in the tides of history.Courtney Angela Brkic is the author ofStillness: And Other Stories--named a 2003 Best Book by theChicago Tribune,a Notable Book by theNew York Times, and a Barnes & Noble Discover pick.Her memoirThe Stone Fieldswas shortlisted for the Freedom of Expression Award by the Index on Censorship. Brkic has been the recipient of a Whiting Writers' Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University, and lives outside Washington, DC. Lives are bruised and twisted by history in Brkic's empathetic and graceful novel about a dislocated Croatian family.
--Brooke Allen,New York Times Book Review Courtney Brkic gracefully interweaves three generations of family stories and lies...all with authority and wisdom...An intimate portrayal of life in exile.
--Amy Shearn,O, the Oprah Magazine In her exquisitely crafted, superbly structured novel, Brkic summons undertones of Greek tragedy to create her arresting characters and their intense emotions and dire secrets. By dramatizing nuanced questions of who is at fault, who can be trusted, and who will sink or swim, Brkic rl#­