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superlamy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
wesleywesley's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Amazing.
A goldfish falls from the 27th floor of an apartment complex and as he passes each floor, we watch the lives of its occupants unfold: a young couple, construction worker, apartment handyman, a pregnant woman, and a young boy.
Judging by the cover, I would have thought it was a young adult novel, but there is a maturity and insight that captivated me. You take different things from each character's story and I was surprised by where they took me.
I have a bad habit of skimming words and skipping sentences when I lose interest or am in a rush to get to the conclusion, but with this book, I read every word, rereading certain paragraphs because they were just so good; they took me by surprise.
My favourite character was Garth, the construction worker, and somewhere near the end of the first quarter of the book is a chapter where he really began to emerge beyond being just a construction worker. Here is an excerpt (pretty much the entire chapter):
A goldfish falls from the 27th floor of an apartment complex and as he passes each floor, we watch the lives of its occupants unfold: a young couple, construction worker, apartment handyman, a pregnant woman, and a young boy.
Judging by the cover, I would have thought it was a young adult novel, but there is a maturity and insight that captivated me. You take different things from each character's story and I was surprised by where they took me.
I have a bad habit of skimming words and skipping sentences when I lose interest or am in a rush to get to the conclusion, but with this book, I read every word, rereading certain paragraphs because they were just so good; they took me by surprise.
My favourite character was Garth, the construction worker, and somewhere near the end of the first quarter of the book is a chapter where he really began to emerge beyond being just a construction worker. Here is an excerpt (pretty much the entire chapter):
The shuffling, scraping noise from below grows louder and Garth pauses midflight to see what it's about. A kid goes sprinting by, springing up two steps at a time on skinny, coiled legs. He shoots the space between Garth and the opposite wall, narrowly missing both in the maneuver. He doesn't slow down or look back. He doesn't excuse himself or apologize.
"Easy there, kid," Garth calls, but the kid keeps running, disappearing around the next landing, out of sight and becoming only echoing noises of huffing breath, footfalls slapping, and the occasional grunt. He hears a door open and then latch shut, and again the stairwell falls silent. Garth absorbs the stillness for a moment.
After the explosive presence of the kid, the absence of movement in his wake strikes Garth with a deep hollow of loneliness. In the middle of a city, on a bustling street full of life, here alone in a concrete shaft encased by a building filled with people, a creeping sense of insignificance leaches into his mood as he renews his ascent. In every direction from where he passes the sign for the eighth floor, there are people. He's gift wrapped in a building of them. They walk above his head, sit below his feet, nap to his left, and pour a cup of tea to his right. Hundreds of them in every direction, yet he knows none of them. He knows nothing of their lives, and he knows none of their names. They're all strangers to him. Outside of his wrapping is a city full of them, a city spilling over with people, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of them. From his apartment window, he can see the buildings, lights stretching to the horizon as the sunsets, all those little dwellings so alone and stacked together, making up this city. Too many people to know and none know him.
This stairwell, he thinks, it's the center of unadulterated loneliness, and I'm in the middle of it.
How is it possible to barely know anyone in a world full of people? Garth wonders. How is it that no one really knows me after thirty-seven years? The paper package crinkles in the bag as he shifts it again from under one arm to the other.
That kid, he thinks, he just came and went. All I know is his skinny little legs and his red Cushes, and then he is gone. And what am I to him? A fat guy in a stairwell blocking the way to his computer games or his supper with his mom or wherever he was rushing to.
And then I'm gone.
Like I was never even here in the first place.
...
He runs. A city full of people and a world full of billions, and this is who I am. How could there be only one me?
Who could I be if I weren't me? Garth wonders as he hoofs up the stairs. Who in these walls, who in the city but myself? Nobody knows this Garth, so what is to say the story would be any different for another Garth?
That little kid who ran by me a few seconds ago? That little kid is just starting out and getting to know the world. I could be just starting out again, learning of all the wonders and monotony and thrills and fears.
That young woman that Danny and I saw walking past at the construction site, that woman goes into the drugstore and buys...what? Buys chocolates and fashion magazines and whatever else a woman buys in a drugstore? If I were her, I would know how it feels to be stared at, to overhear snippets of Danny talking, knowing he's talking about me.
Is that any less a lonely place to be than having eyes pass you by entirely? Still nobody really knows you, not like you know yourself.
...
I couldn't be anyone else, he thinks. I can't even imagine them, and I can barely be myself.
...
For a moment, he thinks about what would happen if his heart stopped right then? What would they make of him and the package? What would they make of his overexertion, his excitement so obvious it would transcend his death? HE decides it wouldn't matter because he'd be dead and has never been egomaniacal enough to think that his meager legacy matters for anything or to anyone.
Garth huffs a deep breath and then continues, onward and upward.
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.
roryfitz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
darjeimoe's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rixi_hazelwood's review against another edition
1.0
My speedy, spoiler-free review for this book can be found on my YouTube channel - Stacey Scribbles! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Lnq53EQ6k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Lnq53EQ6k
pragya4's review against another edition
2.0
Spoiler: I tried several times, but I could not make myself finish this book. That being said, let’s see the reasons why...
Let me start by saying, the books‘ description was so interesting; the whole idea of a fish telling us about the people that live inside the apartment building he is free falling from , is genius and different. Unfortunately, the story is neither narrated by the fish , named Ian, nor is about what Ian seeing during his fall.
First, there are too many bizarre characters with too many bizarre issues that all take place in the same 30 minutes before Ian “jumps” into free fall. It seems to be too much of a suspension of my disbelief that all these weird people all life in the SAME building. I didn’t like some of the characters written style; some were just plain vulgar.
Second, the book is too long for a book about almost nothing, just arbitrary things that happen to the people of this building. A lot happens because the elevator isn’t working.
That’s as far as I got before I couldn’t read anymore. Still though, i simply had to know what happens to Ian the fish so I skipped to the end. Just to learn what happens and I have to say. In line with the rest of the book: unbelievable.
You may not read the whole book and I don’t recommend that you do but you definitely should learn the unbelievable thing that happens to Ian the fish.
Let me start by saying, the books‘ description was so interesting; the whole idea of a fish telling us about the people that live inside the apartment building he is free falling from , is genius and different. Unfortunately, the story is neither narrated by the fish , named Ian, nor is about what Ian seeing during his fall.
First, there are too many bizarre characters with too many bizarre issues that all take place in the same 30 minutes before Ian “jumps” into free fall. It seems to be too much of a suspension of my disbelief that all these weird people all life in the SAME building. I didn’t like some of the characters written style; some were just plain vulgar.
Second, the book is too long for a book about almost nothing, just arbitrary things that happen to the people of this building. A lot happens because the elevator isn’t working.
That’s as far as I got before I couldn’t read anymore. Still though, i simply had to know what happens to Ian the fish so I skipped to the end. Just to learn what happens and I have to say. In line with the rest of the book: unbelievable.
You may not read the whole book and I don’t recommend that you do but you definitely should learn the unbelievable thing that happens to Ian the fish.
coolcalicocat777's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alecrigdon's review against another edition
4.0
Yo, this book was a pleasant ass surprise. The synopsis sounded intriguing but what I found was even more fun to read and discover. I would even dare to say this was straight up delightful.
louslp's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this book! Very different and great message! Fantastic characters!