• A Boy in the Water

  • A Memoir
  • By: Tom Gregory
  • Narrated by: Tom Gregory
  • Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

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A Boy in the Water  By  cover art

A Boy in the Water

By: Tom Gregory
Narrated by: Tom Gregory
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Publisher's summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Boy in the Water, written and read by Tom Gregory. 

Eltham, South London. 1984: the hot fug of the swimming pool and the slow splashing of a boy learning to swim but not yet wanting to take his foot off the bottom. Fast-forward four years. Photographers and family wait on the shingle beach as a boy in a bright orange hat and grease-smeared goggles swims the last few metres from France to England. He has been in the water for 12 agonising hours, encouraged at each stroke by his coach, John Bullet, who has become a second father. 

This is the story of a remarkable friendship between a coach and a boy, and a love letter to the intensity and freedom of childhood. 

©2018 Tom Gregory (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Written beautifully through the eyes of a child yet to enter his teens, A Boy in the Water resonated strongly taking me back to my own childhood. A fascinating story full of innocence, achievement, ambition and trust." (Ellen MacArthur)

"I am absolutely in awe; a mindblowing and phenomenal feat. A Boy in the Water will challenge ideas of what is possible." (Chrissie Wellington OBE)

"Reading this and it's extraordinary. The challenge and the exhilaration of open water swimming brilliantly evoked. A really different and interesting read." (Clare Balding)

What listeners say about A Boy in the Water

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