Learning to Swim

 

          The class is finally reading the book I have been most curious about since knowing the title, “Aristotle and DanteDiscover the Secrets of the Universe,” by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Although I probably could read more of it at a time, we are reading it slower than the last few books. It is a little bit denser and longer, and there is a lot going on.

            Aristotle, known as Ari, and Dante are both Mexican-American by birth, and you only know that because they talk about it, and about their family differences. Aristotle knows more about the culture than Dante. Dante seems to know more about general life. They meet one summer when Dante offers to teach Ari how to swim. Ari had been trying to learn how to swim by himself since 15 is an odd age to be taught by the teenage lifeguards. As the story progresses, the reader learns more about each of the two boys and their parents. Since Ari is narrating, his accounts include first person conversations with his mom. Dante is Ari’s only friend, which for some reason Aristotle’s mom decides to blow off as a fact. Ari’s mom makes a comment about Ari not having any friends, even when Dante is mentioned..

           

Part of what the two are trying to figure out is how things work. In Ari’s case, he is trying to find out more about his dad. Ari also wants to know why no one talks about his brother, and why there are no pictures, as if the brother never existed. It is interesting that Ari’s siblings are so much older. His twin sisters are 27 and he is 15. The brother no one talks about is 25. In-between, Ari’s dad served in Vietnam, and Ari’s mom completed college with a teaching degree. The reader learns about all of these facts when Ari thinks about it or when Dante is able to get Ari to talk about his thoughts. I know that many who served in Vietnam do not like to talk about it, but it makes me wonder if that is the only reason Ari’s dad is quiet. Even his mom does not know why her husband hurts, and it seems like she would know more. What I have found most interesting is that each of the two boys thinks that they do not fit in the world and that they are alone. When they discuss that fact then they each feel a little bit better, at least during their time together. Learning to swim is not only literal, it is figuratively what the boys are learning through their relationship with each other. They each have skills or knowledge that fills in a gap for the other. The story feels real, in that sense.