' This fantastically strange explosive debut novel entrances even as it unsettles. It' s
so brilliantly written' BUZZFEED Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends
with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach her guiding light. If she swims
well enough she will be scouted get a scholarship go to a good school. Her parents will love
her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life. But these are human concerns.
The concerns of those confined to land. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep of the
oceans and the rivers. Stories that called sailors to their doom. Stories that dragged them
down and drowned them. Stories of the creature that she' s always longed to become: a
mermaid. Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine - the feel of it on
her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No
matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill.
In the vein of Our Wives Under the Sea and The Vegetarian Chlorine is a powerful relevant
tale of immigration sapphic longing and fierce defiant becoming.
