D thesis was about Therme Vals before it was destroyed. Pierre is a troubled ex-architecture student whose Ph. In narrative form, Harari incorporates local legend with the history of architecture, particularly the idea of secret rooms, and wraps these all around Zumthor’s conundrum of a structure and the stylistic forms of noir, though without seeking to suck out the mysterious qualities of all these components. One of the most highly-anticipated graphic novels this year, Lucas Harari’s Swimming in Darkness uses the location of the real thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland, called Therme Vals and housed in a mysterious structure designed by the equally mysterious architect Peter Zumthor, to investigate these same ideas.

The reason I bring this up is that these are the ingredients from which legends grow, and though the Bennington Triangle hasn’t ever exactly taken off in popular imagination, it’s been fascinating to be in its proximity and see it brought up now and again, each new iteration pushing it further and further into the realm of accepted paranormal reality, and more distant from the excitement of campfire legend-building. There’s also a stone cairn at the top of the mountain and no one knows where it came from. The real impetus for the epitaph is a few fairly high profile disappearances centered around Glastenbury Mountain, where there used to be a town called Glastenbury, but it is long gone, with only some scarce traces in the woods remaining. I wouldn’t say that it’s the center of numerous documented paranormal happenings, though it is one of those places where there are a lot of unofficial whisperings about more happening there than is actually spoken of. 'A young Polish author who writes rather miraculously in English, of which he has magisterial and frankly, Conradian command' - The Guardian You may also be interested in.There is an area in Vermont close to where I live that has been referred to as the Bennington Triangle. Erotic, mesmeric, heart-rending and brutal, this is a masterpiece' - Attitude extraordinarily beautiful, enrapturing and poignant. 'One of the most astonishing contemporary gay novels we have ever read. I will keep it on my shelves alongside novels by Alan Hollinghurst, Edmund White and other classics in the gay canon' - Evening Standard 'Elegant, compelling and full of melancholy beauty. You won't want to miss it' - The Literary Review Swimming in the Dark is sensual and immersive, and Ludwik's sentimental education is so well described that the reader is left wanting more. This book radiates sensuality, humour, and human truths. The highest talent at work' - Sebastian Barry

'Marvellous, precise, poignant writing the reader is happy to be overwhelmed. Jedrowski is an authentic new international star' - Edmund White 'A lyrical exploration of the conflict between gay love and political conformity.

Swimming in the dark