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The Swallows: A Novel Hardcover – August 13, 2019

by Lisa Lutz (Author)

4.0 774 ratings

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A teacher at a New England prep school ignites a gender war—with deadly consequences—in this dark and provocative novel by the bestselling author of The Passenger

“Riveting . . . full of imagination and power.”—Caroline Kepnes, author of You and Providence

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK • WINNER OF THE ALA’S ALEX AWARD

When Alexandra Witt joins the faculty at Stonebridge Academy, she’s hoping to put a painful past behind her. Then one of her creative writing assignments generates some disturbing responses from students. Before long, Alex is immersed in an investigation of the students atop the school’s social hierarchy—and their connection to something called the Darkroom. She soon inspires the girls who’ve started to question the school’s “boys will be boys” attitude and incites a resistance. But just as the movement is gaining momentum, Alex attracts the attention of an unknown enemy who knows a little too much about her—and what brought her to Stonebridge in the first place.

Meanwhile, Gemma, a defiant senior, has been plotting her attack for years, waiting for the right moment. Shy loner Norman hates his role in the Darkroom, but can’t find the courage to fight back until he makes an unlikely alliance. And then there’s Finn Ford, an English teacher with a shady reputation, who keeps one eye on his literary ambitions and one on Ms. Witt. As the school’s secrets begin to trickle out, a boys-versus-girls skirmish turns into an all-out war, with deeply personal—and potentially fatal—consequences for everyone involved.

Lisa Lutz’s blistering, timely tale of revenge and disruption shows us what can happen when silence wins out over decency for too long—and why the scariest threat of all might be the idea that sooner or later, girls will be girls.

Praise for The Swallows

“The Swallows is fast-moving, darkly humorous and at times shockingly vicious. The battle of the sexes within its pages couldn’t be more compelling. . . . Lutz delivers a frantic, morbidly funny story.”—BookPage

“A decade before the #MeToo movement kicks off in full force, women are coming for the patriarchy in this big ol’ novel, ripe with idiosyncratic characterization and memorable scenes.”—Refinery29

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The Spellman Files: Document #1 (1) (The Spellman Series)

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From the Publisher

teen books;psychological thrillers books;feminism;mystery;thriller books;mysteries;gifts for women

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In her witty and charming style, Lutz offers a genre-busting work of fiction that will satisfy readers looking for a seriously engaging read. The story itself is disturbingly plausible, and the humanly flawed characters make choices, good and bad, based on their backgrounds, all blending smoothly into a darkly comedic mystery. . . . This novel keeps readers on the edge of their seats while opening a conversation about public shaming, economic privilege, gender inequity, and revenge versus justice.”—Booklist (starred review)

“It's the era of #MeToo, and literature is beginning to reflect that in a big way. In Lisa Lutz’s The Swallows, a prep school teacher ignites a gender war when she begins the question the institution's overpowering ‘boys will be boys’ mentality. She soon learns that starting a revolution and threatening the status quo comes with steep consequences.”—Bustle

“A new teacher at a ritzy New England prep school ignites a fierce battle between the male and female students that ends with revenge, threats, and a fatality. So, just another average day in high school . . . just kidding.”—PopSugar

“The latest campus novel teetering between thriller and satire, Lutz’s book throws readers into the drama of a New England prep school, where one inscrutable new teacher brings about ideas that ignite a deadly gender-war.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Liza Lutz is a treasure. Her Spellman Files series manages to be both charming and shrewd, and The Swallows promises to follow suit—it looks witty and caustic, winsome and clever. It’s also, and this is a classic Lutz move, a fresh, unique spin on a genre that already has been reworked a million times. . . . Lutz, searing as ever . . . illuminate[s] how various institutions excuse the oppression or silencing of women and girls.”—CrimeReads

“[Lutz] takes no prisoners. . . . She builds her plot cannily and walks a neat line between satire and realism [in a] withering portrayal of how the #MeToo movement plays out in this rarefied setting.”—Publishers Weekly

“Lutz draws on the droll humor and idiosyncratic characterizations that make her Spellman novels so appealing. . . . An offbeat, darkly witty pre-#MeToo revenge tale. The patriarchy doesn’t stand a chance.”—Kirkus Reviews

“With a memorable cast of characters and more than a few secrets, Lutz’s latest is a turbocharged tale for our times.”—Newsweek

“Extraordinarily fun and blood pressure-raising . . . The Swallows goes surprising places (axes are employed) and isn’t afraid to let everyone roll around in the muck—though some characters come out smelling sweeter than others.”—Vulture

“Wes Anderson meets Muriel Spark in this delicius and vicious bayyle of the sexes set within a private school. Wickedly fun and wildly subversive but packing an emotional punch, The Swallows is as powerful as it is timely.”—Nationally bestselling author Megan Abbott

“Sharpen your axes, ladies, and get ready for this fierce, fun, unsparing novel of female rage, power, and friendship.”—Camille Perri, author of The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy

“I devoured The Swallows. You’ll laugh out loud even as you anxiously flip the pages.”—New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen

About the Author

Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling, Alex Award–winning author of the Spellman Files series, as well as the novels Heads You Lose (with David Hayward), How to Start a Fire, and The Passenger. She has also written for film and TV, including HBO’s The Deuce. She lives part-time in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Part I

Ms. Witt

Some teachers have a calling. I’m not one of them.

I don’t hate teaching. I don’t love it either. That’s also my general stance on adolescents. I understand that one day they’ll rule the world and we’ll all have to live with the consequences. But there’s only so much I’m willing to do to mitigate that outcome. You’ll never catch me leaping atop my desk, quoting Browning, Shakespeare, or Jay-Z. I don’t offer my students sage advice or hard-won wisdom. I don’t dive into the weeds of their personal lives, parsing the muck of their hormone-addled brains. And I sure as hell never learned as much from them as they did from me.

It’s just a job, like any other. It has a litany of downsides, starting with money and ending with money, and a host of other drawbacks in between. There are a few perks. I like having summers off; I like winter and spring breaks; I like not having a boss breathing over my shoulder; I like books and talking about books and occasionally meeting a student who makes me see the world sideways. But I don’t get attached. I don’t get involved. That was the plan, at least.

I came to Stonebridge Academy because it was the only place where I was sure of a no-questions-asked job offer. The dean of students, Gregory Stinson, is an old family friend. I don’t know if he offered me the job knowing everything or nothing. Back then, Greg never spoke of unpleasant things.

Why I wanted to give it another go is beyond me. It’s not like I thought of teaching as my life’s work. I doubt I’ll ever have that. Maybe I just wanted to wrap up my career in education with a memory that didn’t make my skin crawl.

It was July 2009 when I first laid eyes on the campus. During my preliminary visit, Greg and I hammered out my contract in his musty old office, which overlooked fifty acres of dense woods. Under the thick brush of summer, I couldn’t see the veins and arteries of the interconnected hiking and cross-country-skiing trails that Stonebridge boasted of so proudly in its brochure. It seemed like too much space for four hundred or so high school students. Despite the classic prep school architecture—cathedral buildings, everything stone—I had heard rumors about the lax academic environment. Warren Prep kids had called Stonebridge students “Stoners.” I considered that detail its most attractive quality.

Greg was sure I was perfect for the libertarian style of his school, and his certainty compensated for my hesitation. We discussed my course schedule for the new year. I would teach three English literature classes and one American lit.

After that, Greg took me on a brief tour of the campus. His office and several classrooms were housed in an imposing stone structure that had no formal name. Later, I learned that the students called it Headquarters. It was the only building on campus without a literary appellation. You know the game where you take your first pet’s name and add the street you grew up on and, voilà, there’s your porn name? I think Stonebridge used a similar formula for naming their buildings and recreational grounds. Take the last name of a British (or occasionally Irish) poet or author and add House, Manor, Hall, Field, Commons, or Square to it. The center of campus was Fleming Square; students ate in Dahl Dining Hall; Tolkien Library and Samuel Beckett Gymnasium flanked Fielding Field.

Across from Headquarters, adjacent to Beckett Gym, was the headliner of the tour: the Oscar Wilde Bathhouse. We passed through double doors with a sign that read no students allowed, no exceptions. The marble compound, which housed a whirlpool tub, sauna, and steam showers, was apparently an extravagant gift from a former student.

“If this doesn’t seal the deal, I don’t know what will,” Greg said.

I had a feeling that Greg was using the bathhouse as camouflage. I suggested he show me faculty housing.

In silence, Greg led me across the square to a four-story brick building. There was a heavy drizzle outside, which made everything look like it was on the other side of a cheap, transparent shower curtain. We strolled past Dickens House, the boys’ dormitory. And, yes, they called it Dick House. Next to Dickens was a similar four-story brick structure. The sign above the door read woolf hall.

“Yes. After you,” Greg said, opening the thick paneled door.

“No thanks,” I said, taking a step back.

There was no point in entering the building. I would not live among them. That was a deal breaker, I explained. I thanked Greg for the tour and told him I had to be on my way. He told me I was being rash. I had driven two hours; the least I could do was take some time to think it over.

Greg gave me a hand-rendered map of the school grounds, which I think he drew himself. Either way, it was not beholden to any concept of scale or structural accuracy.

Greg walked me to the edge of Fielding Field and suggested I take some time before I made a final decision. I come back to that moment again and again. So many lives would have taken a different course had I not gone for a walk in the woods. That walk changed everything

From Fleming Square I followed George Eliot Trail past Evelyn Waugh Way, and continued for about a quarter mile, until I came upon a tiny stone cottage. It was at least ten minutes walk from Fleming Square and, at that time of year, surrounded by vibrant wildflowers. Cedar, pine, and maple trees towered over everything. A pond nearby rippled under the drizzle. It sounded so much better than that machine I’d bought to help me sleep.

The perfection of it all I now see as a trick, not of nature but of my own mind. I needed a sign, even a wink, from the universe to believe that I was making the right decision. I ignored the fact that the foundation was cracked and some of those stones resembled Jenga pieces. When I looked for the cottage on the map, it wasn’t there.

For someone looking for a place to hide, that was as good a sign as any.

I returned to Greg’s office and told him I would take the job if I could live in the cabin with no name. He said the place wasn’t habitable. He mentioned the absence of a shower. I reminded him of the bathhouse. He continued to resist. I told him those were my terms, take it or leave it. Greg reluctantly agreed.

I returned to campus on Labor Day, after dark. Classes were to begin the next morning. I picked up the key to the cottage from the guard at the security gate and followed the blue ink on my annotated map. A muddy fire lane took me just shy of twenty yards from my new front door.

Inside the cabin, I stood on the cold stone floor and wondered what the hell I was thinking. I was struck by a fresh memory of the perils of dorm life and forced myself to feel at home. I wiped down the cabinets above the kitchen sink, which contained a sparse collection of dishware and an unopened bottle of bourbon. I pulled the bottle from the shelf and noticed a small square of folded paper attached to the neck. I unfolded the paper and read the note written in small block letters.

welcome to stonebridge. be careful.

I sat outside on a rickety chair and considered the message. Was it a warning or just a piece of advice? I drank half the bottle as I tried to decide. Then I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books; Illustrated edition (August 13, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1984818236
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1984818232
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.53 x 1.54 x 6.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,492 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #17,403 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #50,173 in Suspense Thrillers

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4.0 774 ratings

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Lisa Lutz

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Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling author of the six books in the Spellman series, Heads You Lose (with David Hayward), How To Start A Fire, The Passenger, and The Swallows. Her latest offering is The Accomplice, coming January, 2022 from Penguin Random House.

Lutz has won the Alex award and has been nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Although she attended UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, the University of Leeds in England, and San Francisco State University, she still does not have a bachelor's degree. Lutz spent most of the 1990s hopping through a string of low-paying odd jobs while writing and rewriting the screenplay Plan B, a mob comedy. After the film was made in 2000, she vowed she would never write another screenplay. She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York.

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ThatCrazyBookGuy

Wow, great, fun read!

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2022

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Okay, I'll admit I was a fan from the Spellmans and wasnt sure about a standalone. but I just loved it. This book
was creepy and sinister in places but it was also quite funny. Really liked the characters because they acted age appropriate. When that is missing in a story it really wrankles. But Lutz is spot on. I flew through the last 100 pages - the story roared like a race car! Wow! Super ending. I would say read the book description and know what you are getting into, but very highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Leslie Bialler

“Jonah wants to be with the kind of girl who was never an arsonist.”

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2019

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Lisa Lutz’s snarky “The Swallows” has a nasty vibe that will keep you reading (and occasionally laughing). It’s set a decade ago in a second-rate prep school, and concerns what happens when some of the girls find out that the boys are rating them on their abilities to perform oral sex.

The first person we meet is one of the teachers, Alex Witt who, upping the “bad teacher” meme to a new level altogether, begins with this: “Some teachers have a calling. I’m not one of them.” She soon becomes aware what the boys are up to and attempts to do something about it, to little avail--until, thanks in part to her efforts, some of the girls finally hatch a plan to take down the boys.

The tale is told in first person from multiple points of view by multiple characters (faculty and staff, students and parents), and I do mean multiple. Maybe you’ll want to take notes to keep them all straight.

Anyway, the novel moves along in incidents, in increments, in running gags, as the story moves from sassy social satire into Hitchcock country by the end.

Lutz has accomplished what she set out to do fairly well (the tale is set back to the tag end of the 0’s, which is wise because in the age of #metoo it’s almost impossible to imagine the stuff related here could still go on), but there is a problem: all the characters write alike. Maybe you’ll find yourself going back to the beginning of the chapter you’re reading to see who’s doing the narratioin this time. You certainly can’t tell from the style. Then, too, some of the setpieces don’t go off as well as they might. Still, in all, take a chance on it.

NOTES AND ASIDES: Oral sex/book title. Got it? Clutchers of pearls should seek something else.

One person found this helpful

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Buzy_reading

Prep school academy darkroom game

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022

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The Shallows takes some time to acclimate to the characters and the driving force of the story. From the beginning it wasn’t clear what was taking place between the boys and the girls. It’s the type of story you’ll want to enjoy in one sitting. I usually like to go into a story blind but I just could not figure this one out especially the title. Well after reading a few 1 star reviews because I always work my way from bottom to top when determining if what I’m reading is worth it. I found my answer. Basically what this book is about is a game implemented by the guys. Alex Witt is the new faculty member that wants to expose this group of guys who use the forum known as the Darkroom.

Shallows revolves around ten students that make up the Ten. There’s a social hierarchy between the ten students. If you don’t follow the Stonebridge leaders they’ll put a target on your back. The faculty is made up of five teachers. Essentially the reader is introduced to a wide variety of characters all part of Stonebridge Academy.

This is a character driven story. There’s an extensive amount of information to sort through which is a bit overwhelming. It’s like walking into a crowded room and immediately being introduced to each person with the expectation of remembering each one’s name. It’s unsettling at first since you are still trying to ascertain what the concept is.

A dark twisted game of public humiliation and shaming is taking place at Stonebridge and the new teacher Alex Witt wants to get to the bottom of it.
You have to go into this book with an open mind. You might find it empowering or you might find it cautionary.

It’s clever and unique. I found it was overwhelming with the four points of view. There was too much going on besides the game. This book is different from her other books. However, Lisa Lutz’s writing style and voice is excellent. It hooked me in a way the other books in this type of context hadn’t.
If you are still on the fence just know that it’s a private academy very little teaching was being done. It was Thanksgiving break and then Christmas break. The students spent more time plotting revenge while the teachers drank. Instead of learning and focusing on education these students created a toxic environment of carrying on a five year long tradition.

3 people found this helpful

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Avid Mystery Reader

Lisa Lutz delivers another page-turner!

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2019

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I found the book to be un-put-down-able. Kept me up at night, reading like a crazed woman. Lutz delivers strongly defined characters with a variety of viewpoints of the action involved. She captures them all... young headstrong woman, young lost soul, older male jerk, younger male 'good guys' and more. I have some small quibbles about the plot, but only the very OCD among us would be bothered by them. The main thing is that it's a very good story --- scary in its own way! -- with very readable characters. Should appeal to the fans of the Spellman Files and The Passenger alike. In a way, it's a bit of both. 5 stars.

11 people found this helpful

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Ana Hale

Fun read, but manage expectations

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2019

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I love Lutz! Her Spellman series is awesome. The Swallows is good up until the last couple chapters. The ending is rushed which is a shame sense she builds the story well. Good for light reading.

One person found this helpful

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Scarletpen

Hard to put down.

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020

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Lyrical, witty, and dry as a bone, The Swallows is a powerful novel about ... sexism? Power and gender? Mundane exploitation exploded? It is a little story that shows the ripples and waves of gender and status quo or, rather, what happens when a “responsible adult” takes a job teaching English at a traditional boarding school. (Why is it always the English teacher? Because they teach looking and thinking to their students.) A really good read about a hard topic.

One person found this helpful

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mulkie

Dark dark dark

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019

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I think this book was very well written. But to be honest it gave me nightmares. It is a horror story about a horrifying boarding school. If you want nightmare definitely read this book!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022

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As a senior citizen, I could not relate well to the characters. I have loved the Spellman series so gave this a try.

2 people found this helpful

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ROBERT M

Alles super

Reviewed in Germany on September 9, 2023

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Schönes Buch mit guter Qualität. Alles wie erwartet. Der Versand war schnell und zuverlässig. Danke, gerne wieder

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Kelly Dewis

A war cry for the #metoo generation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2020

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I absolutely loved this book. When Alex Witt gaughter of a mediocre has been writer goes to work at Stonebridge academy she discovers that no is all as it seems. A tradition which disrespects girls in one of the worst ways is about to be judged and the results will change everything permanently. I loved that the women in this book are more than just 2d characters used to flesh out a male centric plot. They are the main focus of the story with real stories and I felt empathy with each of the females but also with the men who were caught in the middle of things. I think girls of all ages should read this book and understand that we don't have to take it.

Readist

Good book

Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2020

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I just love Lisa Lutz. She's not subtle, but she's not trying to be. She lays her point on the table and lets the reader enjoy it.

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