Fishbowl

A Novel

By: Bradley Somer

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

A goldfish named Ian is falling from the 27th-floor balcony on which his fishbowl sits. He's longed for adventure, so when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the balcony railing and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, Ian witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents. There's the handsome grad student, his girlfriend, and the other woman; the construction worker who feels trapped by a secret; the building's super who feels invisible and alone; the pregnant woman on bed rest who craves a forbidden ice cream sandwich; the shut-in for whom dirty talk, and quiche, are a way of life; and home-schooled Herman, a boy who thinks he can travel through time.

Though they share time and space, they have something even more important in common: each faces a decision that will affect the course of their lives. Within the walls of the Seville are stories of love, new life, and death, of facing the ugly truth of who one has been and the beautiful truth of who one can become. Sometimes taking a risk is the only way to move forward with our lives. As Ian the goldfish knows, "An entire life devoted to a fishbowl will make one die an old fish with not one adventure had." Bradley Somer's Fishbowl is at turns funny and heartbreaking and you will, no doubt, fall in love with his unforgettable characters.

©2015 Bradley Somer (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

What a fun story about life

I loved this book. Took me a few minutes to get it and what's happening but ended up listening to it start to finish in 2 days, even while shopping. The entangled life stories of the characters was so neat and well described. And all with the fish too! I loved it!

Top ten book

Best read of the year so far. The author is a genius- don't give up on it early.

Almost perfect!

How could I not listen to a book about a fish falling from the 27th floor of an apartment building?? The chapters each start out with the Pooh-style, "In which (something happens)". I loved that. And oh - some of the little observances about Ian being a fish and finding himself in the predicament of no longer being in water! They made me laugh. The stories of the inhabitants in the building were "unputdownable" or in this case, I couldn't stop listening! It made a grueling day sitting in immigration be almost enjoyable, as I had nothing else to do, so no distractions from this unique story. Of course, all along, I'm wondering what's going to happen to Ian the fish, but also, in such a short time, I was all wrapped up in all of the characters and their sad, funny, poignant, hopeful stories. There was some unnecessary repetition in hearing the stories from two points of view at times, but it worked. And as for Ian...well, it was totally worth the ending, even if I hadn't liked all the in-between. But I did, so all around a fun listen!

Quirky look at the interconnectedness of life

Characters full of life and feeling plus a compelling storyline that slowly reveals itself through an expressive narrator equals a book I could not stop listening to!

I liked it.

this was such a cute and tender book.
I wish the author writes more books.

Entertaining chapter titles

A fun read. A glimpse into many different lives that become interconnected. Very funny.
Satisfying ending.
The link of the falling fish is adorable.

Outstanding

Clever, funny, sad, happy. Wow! Really hard to put into words how enjoyable this was to listen to. I was sorry to leave the lives of these characters.

Excellent. Loved it!

I loved everything about this well-written book and the narration was an ideal match. If you are searching for a creative, intelligent, enjoyable read, this is it. The first and last chapters were particularly exquisite--excepting the classics, rare is the modern novel that exhibits writing in such fine form. THIS is storytelling and narration at their best. Kudos to the author and narrator!

It was OK

Any additional comments?

The middle of this story was well written and the multi perspective very well done. I thought that the beginning and end was too much like a lecture and found it quite overkill. The narrator was very good.

A lot to like, but Petunia

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed it. The "bunch of lonely souls in the city with interwoven stories" genre can be pretty hit and miss, but this one was very charming. He's distilled the lives of many people into snapshots, and conveyed the complexity of their lives into tiny slices of time. Also, the fish! Experiencing the world and time and emotions through the lens of a fish was unexpectedly wonderful.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I don't think the author (or the editor) talked to any actual human mother (or obgyn, for that matter) about the process of labor and delivery. Petunia's experience read like something ... well... written by someone who is trying to imagine what it's like to have a baby. There are problems so glaring that a simple wikipedia search could have cleared them up. Petunia's only purpose in this story is to be pregnant and give birth. She is literally a vessel for Herman's coming of age, so her experience should be authentic. It's not.

Did Peter Berkrot do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He's a little overly animated for my tastes, but that's splitting hairs. He's very good.

Did Fishbowl inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to write this to implore all writers to learn more about labor and delivery.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book. Please, do not ruin it by making it into a movie.