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liv_reads99's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- Intertwining stories
- TLDR: A day in the life of various residents of an apartment building
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theaa24's review against another edition
4.0
Fishbowl is a really nice story that happens in just a really short period of time with a lot of amazing characters.
carkxy's review against another edition
4.0
'fishbowl' was a fun book and i enjoyed parts of it. our story begins with a goldfish named ian falling down from the 27th storey balcony of an apartment; unlike many books, the fall only occurs at the end of the novel whereas the rest of the book acts as an insight into the perspectives of a handful of characters about half an hour before ian's descent.
as the reader, we are guided through the emotions, secrets and lives of the apartment's residents: a pregnant woman who finds herself entering labour while her midwife and husband just so happened to be away, a lonely superintendent who nobody takes notice of and works to forget his sorrows, a boy who believes that he can travel through time, a construction worker who has a deeply buried secret, an agoraphobic who hasn't left her room in years and a man who finds himself in a struggle between his mistress and girlfriend. the characters are brilliantly shaped and explode of animation, each of their stories embody a certain theme in life such as death, loss, hope, bravery, passion and love. you will find that over the course of the book, the stories would eventually find themselves intertwined with one another.
short-chapter lovers just like myself will rest easy for this one as each chapter only takes up about 2-5 pages. however, as mentioned in the paragraph above, as the stories are intertwined and are told in different perspectives every chapter, the story may often feel choppy or even repetitive to some extent. i didn't mind it too much, i even thought it rather clever of the author to do so but there were a few points in time where the countless layers overlapping over one another would stir up some confusion lol. like do i really need to go through the same scene 2-3 times from different perspectives??? no, i don't think so??? it wasn't exactly bad but it was definitely unnecessary for the most part. i loved most of the stories except for herman's story because that felt like one gigantic trainwreck, the time travel stuff was frustrating to read through, i had neither heads nor tails of where the story went. not to mention, his storyline was poorly wrapped up as compared to the other residents' so that was quite a missed opportunity there.
'fishbowl' will leave you with a jumble of emotions at the end but overall, it left me with a warm and optimistic feeling so that was nice!
as the reader, we are guided through the emotions, secrets and lives of the apartment's residents: a pregnant woman who finds herself entering labour while her midwife and husband just so happened to be away, a lonely superintendent who nobody takes notice of and works to forget his sorrows, a boy who believes that he can travel through time, a construction worker who has a deeply buried secret, an agoraphobic who hasn't left her room in years and a man who finds himself in a struggle between his mistress and girlfriend. the characters are brilliantly shaped and explode of animation, each of their stories embody a certain theme in life such as death, loss, hope, bravery, passion and love. you will find that over the course of the book, the stories would eventually find themselves intertwined with one another.
short-chapter lovers just like myself will rest easy for this one as each chapter only takes up about 2-5 pages. however, as mentioned in the paragraph above, as the stories are intertwined and are told in different perspectives every chapter, the story may often feel choppy or even repetitive to some extent. i didn't mind it too much, i even thought it rather clever of the author to do so but there were a few points in time where the countless layers overlapping over one another would stir up some confusion lol. like do i really need to go through the same scene 2-3 times from different perspectives??? no, i don't think so??? it wasn't exactly bad but it was definitely unnecessary for the most part. i loved most of the stories except for herman's story because that felt like one gigantic trainwreck, the time travel stuff was frustrating to read through, i had neither heads nor tails of where the story went. not to mention, his storyline was poorly wrapped up as compared to the other residents' so that was quite a missed opportunity there.
'fishbowl' will leave you with a jumble of emotions at the end but overall, it left me with a warm and optimistic feeling so that was nice!
naomisbookcase's review against another edition
4.0
Ian is a goldfish. Just a standard orange goldfish. Although, there is something different about Ian, it's the fact that he is plummeting from the 27th floor of his owner's apartment. On his way toward the ground he observes the lives of the other occupants in the building, how diverse their lives are but how they come together to conquer loneliness, grief and phobias.
An appealing factor of this book was the flip-book animation of a falling goldfish down the margin. The physicality of a book is never a high-ranking factor for me but this one just couldn't be left in the shop based on that alone. It set the tone for the book which was for lack of a better word, fun. After reading IT for nearly two weeks solid I needed a fun break and this was the perfect choice. The concept of a whole story being based on a goldfish's observations was original and thoroughly enjoyable, Somer brings a world alive within a small apartment building through the little fish and it's an incredible achievement. Individual characters became compelling examples of every type of person in our societal cluster and their experiences were emotional enough for me to form a connection with them.
Fishbowl carefully stands the balance between fun narrative and thought-provoking concepts whilst combining the two in Ian the goldfish's narrative. He debates the existence of life, his place in his fishbowl and the fragile friendship with his snail neighbour, Troy. Friendship becomes a theme for the book that we saw in nearly every separate story, with most intertwining in a beautiful conclusion. We meet our characters all in unhappy situations but ultimately finding the missing connection to bring them into the realm of happiness. Katie and Garth's separate stories are my favourite, Katie starts being obsessed over a boy and Garth is hiding a secret he can only express in the confides of his apartment, alone. They travel their path through darkened stairwells and the shining lobby floor to their destinations of happiness which made for a happy ending I was hoping for.
A time traveller story-line was not what I was expecting for this book, although I wasn't sure what to expect from a goldfish based narrative, but it didn't do much for me. It added depth and anguish to our youngest character Herman but I think the story was a little lost on me and the book good have been written slightly differently to bring these characteristics out of Herman.
The question on my lips when I started the book was "Are we just going to read until Ian the goldfish plummets to his death?" - let me assure you that (and it doesn't ruin the book) he survives and fulfils his wish of travelling further than his glass bowl.
This was a wonderful read and it has earned it's place on my bookshelf for years and re-reads to come. Although there were sections of the book I didn't love the book was all-round enjoyable and a pleasant experience. Thank you Bradley Somer.
An appealing factor of this book was the flip-book animation of a falling goldfish down the margin. The physicality of a book is never a high-ranking factor for me but this one just couldn't be left in the shop based on that alone. It set the tone for the book which was for lack of a better word, fun. After reading IT for nearly two weeks solid I needed a fun break and this was the perfect choice. The concept of a whole story being based on a goldfish's observations was original and thoroughly enjoyable, Somer brings a world alive within a small apartment building through the little fish and it's an incredible achievement. Individual characters became compelling examples of every type of person in our societal cluster and their experiences were emotional enough for me to form a connection with them.
Fishbowl carefully stands the balance between fun narrative and thought-provoking concepts whilst combining the two in Ian the goldfish's narrative. He debates the existence of life, his place in his fishbowl and the fragile friendship with his snail neighbour, Troy. Friendship becomes a theme for the book that we saw in nearly every separate story, with most intertwining in a beautiful conclusion. We meet our characters all in unhappy situations but ultimately finding the missing connection to bring them into the realm of happiness. Katie and Garth's separate stories are my favourite, Katie starts being obsessed over a boy and Garth is hiding a secret he can only express in the confides of his apartment, alone. They travel their path through darkened stairwells and the shining lobby floor to their destinations of happiness which made for a happy ending I was hoping for.
A time traveller story-line was not what I was expecting for this book, although I wasn't sure what to expect from a goldfish based narrative, but it didn't do much for me. It added depth and anguish to our youngest character Herman but I think the story was a little lost on me and the book good have been written slightly differently to bring these characteristics out of Herman.
The question on my lips when I started the book was "Are we just going to read until Ian the goldfish plummets to his death?" - let me assure you that (and it doesn't ruin the book) he survives and fulfils his wish of travelling further than his glass bowl.
This was a wonderful read and it has earned it's place on my bookshelf for years and re-reads to come. Although there were sections of the book I didn't love the book was all-round enjoyable and a pleasant experience. Thank you Bradley Somer.
piepieb's review against another edition
4.0
Quirky and clever!
I first heard of this book at a local event, where [a:Sharon Draper|12527833|Sharon Draper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] presented. A member of the audience asked her a question, something along the lines of what was the last book you read, and she told us about recently reading this book on her iPad on an airplane.
This book caught my interest; however, in the first few pages, I almost gave up. I could have done without all the science-y, "essence of life" bits. But then this book grabbed my attention! I blew through it in a couple of days, and probably could have read it all in one day. I wanted to know Garth's secret, I wanted Katie to know how big of a jerk Connor was, I wanted to know more about Herman, I wanted to know how on earth Ian the goldfish ended up plummeting toward the concrete ground. This is a weird book, but it is clever and it stands apart in how unique it is. This is the type of book where you wonder about the characters after you finish the last page and you wonder what life holds for them now. There are definitely graphic scenes, there is definitely sex, but it deserves to be read through to the end. You have to read this! Highly recommended!
I first heard of this book at a local event, where [a:Sharon Draper|12527833|Sharon Draper|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] presented. A member of the audience asked her a question, something along the lines of what was the last book you read, and she told us about recently reading this book on her iPad on an airplane.
This book caught my interest; however, in the first few pages, I almost gave up. I could have done without all the science-y, "essence of life" bits. But then this book grabbed my attention! I blew through it in a couple of days, and probably could have read it all in one day. I wanted to know Garth's secret, I wanted Katie to know how big of a jerk Connor was, I wanted to know more about Herman, I wanted to know how on earth Ian the goldfish ended up plummeting toward the concrete ground. This is a weird book, but it is clever and it stands apart in how unique it is. This is the type of book where you wonder about the characters after you finish the last page and you wonder what life holds for them now. There are definitely graphic scenes, there is definitely sex, but it deserves to be read through to the end. You have to read this! Highly recommended!
podie's review against another edition
4.0
This was on sale on bookoutlet and I'm so glad I decided to pick it up. What a fun, light read! Which also makes you contemplate life and what it means to be alive and surrounded by a world with a billion people in it. Recommend it highly!
laurapatriciarosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on:> http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/blog-tour-fishbowl-by-bradley-somer.html
I have read a fair few refreshingly unique reads this year and Fish Bowl is definitely one of them. You would think it would become increasingly harder for a book to stand out from the crowd, when actually I think the ideas are getting better and better. There is nothing I didn't like about this fun, quirky novel.
What I loved the most about this story is that our main protagonist is a gold fish called Ian, who is perilously plunging towards ground from 27 floors up. As he is descending, he gets quick glimpses into each apartment and we get to see into the lives of a brilliant cast of characters in that day that Ian finds himself out of his own fishbowl and looking into the fishbowls of those in the apartment building.
Also anyone who reads my blog will know that I am a big fan of multiple character viewpoints. You really get a sense for the raw human emotions that we all go through; what it is that makes us happy, sad, angry, annoyed and also how we can all just pass each other by without really knowing what is going on in that person's life. Fishbowl delivers an eclectic mix of brilliantly flawed characters that you actually find yourself managing to relate to even when their situations are different to yours. I have never come across such contrasting characters in one story before and this is what made it so refreshing and different to read.
I really enjoy a novel that gets me thinking and evaluating and Bradley Somer has created a wonderful novel that gets you looking at life a little differently. It's also incredibly clever as all of the events that happen, happen within the space of half an hour, so even though it feels longer, Bradley has somehow managed to slow time and perception down.
Fishbowl was quirky, different and a joy to read. I loved immersing myself in the world of the residents of Seville on Roxy and would do so easily again.
I have read a fair few refreshingly unique reads this year and Fish Bowl is definitely one of them. You would think it would become increasingly harder for a book to stand out from the crowd, when actually I think the ideas are getting better and better. There is nothing I didn't like about this fun, quirky novel.
What I loved the most about this story is that our main protagonist is a gold fish called Ian, who is perilously plunging towards ground from 27 floors up. As he is descending, he gets quick glimpses into each apartment and we get to see into the lives of a brilliant cast of characters in that day that Ian finds himself out of his own fishbowl and looking into the fishbowls of those in the apartment building.
Also anyone who reads my blog will know that I am a big fan of multiple character viewpoints. You really get a sense for the raw human emotions that we all go through; what it is that makes us happy, sad, angry, annoyed and also how we can all just pass each other by without really knowing what is going on in that person's life. Fishbowl delivers an eclectic mix of brilliantly flawed characters that you actually find yourself managing to relate to even when their situations are different to yours. I have never come across such contrasting characters in one story before and this is what made it so refreshing and different to read.
I really enjoy a novel that gets me thinking and evaluating and Bradley Somer has created a wonderful novel that gets you looking at life a little differently. It's also incredibly clever as all of the events that happen, happen within the space of half an hour, so even though it feels longer, Bradley has somehow managed to slow time and perception down.
Fishbowl was quirky, different and a joy to read. I loved immersing myself in the world of the residents of Seville on Roxy and would do so easily again.
vfosslay's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the inventive structure of this book and seeing how the residents of the building stories' collided.
duffymn's review against another edition
2.0
Cool concept, but was way too predictable and wrapped up too cleanly. It reads fast though, and entertains.