What started out as mysterious and interesting, quite quickly turned into convoluted ramblings. In compliment, I really like where the book got it’s title from.. and was ready for the journey it was about to take me on.. I also especially really like the part about the tube of tomato purée. However the rest fell flat, what held my interest was that it was being read by the author. Otherwise it just felt like notes or a journal, and I found my self just wanting it to be over.

3.5 stars

I've given this (audio)book the benefit of the doubt. I think, having read other reviews, that I simply not a sophisticated-enough reader to really appreciate it.

The book is a stream-of-consciousness series of vignettes about a woman's inner and outer life. It's set in Ireland, in the present day.

I wonder if my main barrier to enjoying the book was the style of narration. The narrator, to my mind, sounded perpetually petulant and sulky. Many other reviewers have lauded the book, so I really must be missing something!

A beautifully written series of vignettes- Bennett’s writing is so immersive and she writes with such focused clarity about the everyday - the sound of a knife on a chopping board, the colour of plastic straws, a jam stain on a sheet, it’s very transporting - almost meditative. She is also extremely funny and keenly observant about human foibles.
I listened to the audio book but will be stocking this in book format- a great one to hand sell.

A fascinating collection of short stories, some very short no more than a minute or two in length others longer, rambling almost like listening to a one sided conversation or the sort of conversation I have with myself sometimes. There is a lot of humour in these stories but also a mix of other emotions and memories, and silly day to day frustrations like the cooker knobs- Oh Tomato Puree! made me laugh. Some are a bit sad, some more upbeat a kind of life goes on. There is a connectivity between the stories because of the unnamed first person narrator. She seemed a bit lonely with her own company but I had a sense that something had happened in her life that she was escaping or recovering from. She encounters other characters- none of whom are named - her landlady, a lover, a friend who almost seem to intrude on her life rather than enhance it. I found a couple of the later stories took a darker turn and became a little obscure.

The stories are read by the author which generally worked well but tended to emphasise some aspects of speech that became a little repetitive - actually, as a matter of fact - and also became a bit monotonous and sounded just occasionally a bit bored. A change of voice would have added a bit of variety to the stories. I found it best to listen to one or two stories at a time.

All in all this is an entertaining collection that I enjoyed listening to and could relate to on more than one occasion which made it all that more pleasurable.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I suspect Pond is something of a marmite book. I love marmite, but sadly, I didn’t enjoy this rambling narrative at all. I’ve been trying to decide whether it works better ( for me) as hard copy rather than audio. There would be time then to reflect, pause and maybe reread in part. I have no doubt about the quality of the writing. It’s elegant, poignant with some wit and highly reflective. It’s almost stream of consciousness in style but I found it very difficult firstly to connect at all and then to remain engaged. Mostly, I found the author’s narration soporific and rather flat.

Rarely, this is a title I’ve been unable to finish and despite the quality of the writing, it’s not for me.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. I have been wanting to read this book ever since it was published. But sadly this didn't work for me. It was just okay.

Short stories from the mind of Claire-Louise Bennett. An intimate diarisation of the poetry in every day life; beauty that can be seen in the banal.



Bennett gives a careful consideration to the ordinary, often with disjointed observations and thoughts as though they have just occurred to her. In part a documentation of life alone in her cottage, with her personal niggles and idiosyncrasies. This unapologetic content is at once relatable, amusing and thought provoking. The wonderfully illustrative writing style leaves me wondering more about this woman and her life.

There were some areas I really enjoyed and others I found a little boring. Overall good.

I enjoyed the narration, it worked particularly well with the personal style of the writing.

Although there were certain sentences that really touched me or made me laugh, I generally thought this book was just ok.

I assume its my own ignorance that prevented me liking and/or understanding what this was about. I'd been expecting a sort of collection of short stories but what I listened to was someone's rambling thoughts about her life (possibly past and present) in a coastal town in Ireland (I'm assuming Ireland because the author alludes to where she lives as being a westernmost point of Europe). I did look up the author who apparently lives in Galway (which is not the most westerly point of Ireland).

But pedantic fact-checking aside, I should have read a) some reviews and b) the blurb better because the reviews would have told me that it was more Joyce than Brautigan. The blurb (I now see mentions Pond being like A Year of Rest and Rekaxation, which I disliked immensely).

Either way I did not enjoy the repetitive nature of these short rambles (if I hear the ottoman again, it'll be too soon) nor did I like the "poetry".

For me this was neither one thing nor the other. Simply not my cup of tea.

Written in a stream of consciousness style prose this book is so lyrical and poetic. As a fan of Virginia Woolf I very much enjoyed the writing style, describing the day to day life of a singular character. The descriptive nature of writing made me feel like I was there in the story while the lonely atmosphere felt familiar and warm. The main character was eccentric and very amusing, her ramblings often had me laughing but also feeling different emotions which made her charming as she draws you into her somewhat mundane life. There’s not much in the way of plot but it doesn’t take anything away from the book as you can feel everything that is being talked about, particularly the loneliness being portrayed. I definitely felt close to the character by the end of the book and it had a very intimate feeling. I found this a joy to read as well as feeling very realistic plus the narration was excellent

This short story collection completely beguiled me . The unnamed narrator is a woman living in mostly solitude in rural Ireland who gives exact detail of her everyday life. A broken oven, stale fruit, the detail of her socks. When recounting the ordinary there are flashes of meaning or a linking back to the story title. The narrative unfolds in a stream of consciousness style leaving the reader alert to what is hinted at or brushed against.

I think elements of this book may have gone over my head and I think I will reread at some point but the language captivated me. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author. I think this helped me understand the nuance of some of the stories, audio read by the author are always my favourite, nobody can tell a story like the person who created it. I loved the authors narration, found her voice quite soothing and enjoyed the glimpses of Irishisms among her English accent. I assume the author has spent a lot of time in Ireland based on her turn of phrase.

I listened to this practically in one go. I found it hard to wrench myself from the world I was listening to and back to reality and was left wanting to know more about the protagonist and that she is ok.

Recommend.

Fitzcarraldo titles are reliably beautiful, challenging and timely, and Pond is no exception. I'm not a regular reader of short story collections but this one really sings.